/*-f>l 


.^-^ 


LIB  R 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

GIKT 


Received 
Accessions  No. 


Shelf  No. 


REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES 


STATED  AND  APPLIED 


BY 


REV.  J.  M.  FOSTER, 
ri 

DISTRICT  SECRETARY  TO  THE  NATIONAL  REFORM  ASSO- 
CIATION, CINCINNATI,  O. 


: :  f  ieming  *.  "Revel!  : : 

CHICAGO:  I  NEW  YORK: 

148  &  150  Madison  Street.  12  Bible  House,  Astor  Place. 


A 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1890,  by 

FLEMING  H.  REVELL, 

In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


(Eo  £aura;  mj  Wilt, 


courage  and  loyalty   haue  been   the 
inspiration   of  my   life, 


\S 


"The  nation  is  the  sphere  of  realized  freedom,  in  which 
alone  the  life  of  man  fulfills  itself,  and  it  is  to  give  ex- 
pression to  all  that  is  compassed  in  life.  It  moves  toward 
the  development  of  a  perfect  humanity.  Its  symbol  is 
the  city  of  a  hundred  gates,  through  which  there  passes 
not  only  the  course  of  industry  and  trade,  but  the  forms 
of  poets,  and  prophets,  and  soldiers,  and  sailors,  and 
scholars— man,  and  woman,  and  child,  in  the  unbroken 
procession  of  the  people.  Its  warrior  bears  the  shield  of 
Achilles,  on  which  there  are  not  only  the  figures  of  the 
mart,  and  sea,  and  field,  the  loom,  and  ship,  and  plough, 
but  the  houses,  and  temples,  and  shrines  and  the  altars 
of  men,  the  types  of  the  thought,  and  endeavor,  and  con- 
flict and  hope  of  humanity."—  Mulford. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAP.          I.     Principles  of  the  Second  Reformation..      15 
II.     Terms  Defined :  Nation,  Government,  Con- 
stitution, etc 26 

III.  The  Moral  Responsibility  and  Accounta- 

bility of  Nations 33 

I V.  Civil  Government  God's  Moral  Ordinance. 

i.    Its  powers  from  God.     2.    Its  laws 

from  God 57 

V.     Civil  Authority  from  God,  Proved  in  Na- 
ture, Scripture  and  History 66 

VI.     The  State  and  the  Moral  Law,  the  Keeper 

of  Both  Tables 77 

VII.  The  Righteous  Nation,  i.  The  Charac- 
ter of  our  Government.  2.  Its  Admin- 
istration Toward  the  Negro,  the  Indian 

and  the  Chinaman 88 

VIII.     Sabbath  Reform 113 

IX.     Divorce  Reform 150 

X.     Temperance  Reform,    i.  Total  Abstinence 
for   the    Individual.     2.  Prohibition  for 
the  State.    3.  Leadership  for  the  Church.  156 
XI.     The  Mediatorial  Dominion  of  Christ. ...  184 
XII.     Christ  the  King  of  Nations 207 

XIII.  Christ's  Headship  over  His  Church 242 

XIV.  The  Resurrection  of  Christ  the  Ultimate 

Proof  of  His  Messiahship 253 


CONTENTS. 


CHAP.       XV.     Relation  of  Church  and  State 268 

XVI.  The  Rich  and  Poor.    i.  American  Strikes. 

2.  The  Labor  Problem 276 

XVII.     The  Unity  of  the  Church 303 

XVIII.     The  Church's  Glory 323, 

XIX.     Chiliasm  Unscriptural 341 

XX.     The  Millennium 371 

XXI.  The  Bible  God's  Letter  to  the  People. .  .387 

XXII.     God's  Rule  for  Christian  Giving 413 


PREFACE. 


The  Roman  moralist,  Terrence,  said:  "I  am  a  man,  and 
nothing  that  concerns  humanity  is  alien  to  my  breast."  The 
interests  of  the  American  people  are  hanging  in  the  balance. 
The  crisis  in  the  conflict  between  the  forces  of  good  and 
evil  in  this  land  has  come.  And  the  parting  sentiment  of 
Horace  Mann  should  ring  out  along  the  line:  "I  beseech 
you  to  treasure  up  in  your  hearts  these  my  parting  words : 
Be  ashamed  to  die  until  you  have  won  some  victory  for 
humanity." 

Not  long  before  the  surrender  of  Gen.  Lee  at  Appomatox, 
Gen.  Sheridan  wrote  his  chief,  Gen.  Grant,  "If  things  are 
pushed  we  can  soon  run  down  the  enemy."  Gen.  Grant  re- 
plied, with  characteristic  brevity,  "Push  things,  then."  The 
National  Reform  Association  proposes  to  "push  things"  until 
this  nation  is  in  allegiance  with  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The 
movement  is  to  be  made  all  along  the  line. 

When  the  Israelites  went  out  of  Egypt,  they  encamped  by 
the  Red  Sea.  Here  they  were  sorely  tried.  The  mountain 
Pihahiroth  on  the  one  hand,  the  mountain  Baalzephon  on  the 
other,  the  sea  in  front,  and  the  Egyptian  armies  in  the  rear. 
In  their  distress  they  cried  to  God.  And  God's  answer  by 
Moses  was,  "Speak  to  the  people  that  they  go  forward."  As 
they  went  forward  the  sea  divided,  the  people  escaped  into 
the  wilderness,  and  the  Egyptians  were  swallowed  up.  This 
nation  is  being  sorely  pressed.  Anarchism,  Alcoholism, 
Mormonism,  Romanism,  are  closing  in  upon  her.  God's 
voice  through  the  National  Reform  Association  is :  "Speak 
to  the  people  that  they  go  forward."  Faith  in  God  divides 


PREFACE. 


the  seas  and  levels  the  mountains.  Some  years  ago  there 
was  a  long  and  severe  winter  in  New  England.  It  extended 
far  into  spring.  Two  men  met  to  talk  over  the  situation. 
One  said:  "I  do  not  see  what  we  shall  do.  The  streams  are 
frozen  over,  the  pasture  fields  are  covered  with  snow,  and  the 
cattle  and  sheep  are  suffering."  "I  can  see  signs  of  a  speedy 
break  up,"  said  Brother  Leavett.  "What  is  your  sign?" 
eagerly  inquired  the  other.  "  We  carit  get  along  without  it. " 
Brother  Leavett's  sign  is  a  good  one.  God  will  give  us  relief 
soon,  because  we  can't  get  along  without  it.  Man's  ex- 
tremity is  God's  opportunity. 

The  Kamtchatkan  must  exercise  to  keep  from  freezing. 
The  National  Reformer  must  work  to  keep  from  being  be- 
numbed by  the  atmosphere  of  sin.  The  wise  and  holy  St. 
Edmund  of  Canterbury  said :  "Work  as  though  you  would 
live  forever;  live  as  though  you  would  die  to-day." 

The  question  of  the  relation  of  railroad  corporations  to  the 
Lord's  day  has  yet  to  be  settled.  It  cannot  be  suppressed. 
Like  woman's  wit,  "shut  the  doors  upon  it,  and  it  will  out  at 
the  casement ;  shut  that,  and  'twill  out  at  the  key-hole ;  stop 
that,  and  'twill  fly  with  the  smoke  out  at  the  chimney." 
Christians  admit  that  it  is  wrong  to  build  these  roads  on  the 
Sabbath;  then  why  is  it  not  wrong  to  run  them?  It  is  wrong 
for  drivers  and  conductors  to  work  regularly  on  Sabbath  to 
make  money;  then  why  is  it  not  wrong  for  the  company  to 
employ  them  and  the  passengers  to  purchase  their  labor  on 
that  day?  It  is  unjust  for  the  employer  to  compel  the  em- 
ploye to  do  seven  days'  work  for  six  days'  pay.  It  is  unmer- 
ciful to  compel  him  to  work  on  Sabbath  on  pain  of  losing  his 
position.  It  is  robbing  God  to  use  His  day  to  increase  our 
gain.  "Ye  have  robbed  me,  even  this  whole  nation."  This 
question  will  not  down.  It  will  continue  "forever  and  a  day." 
The  jarring  and  clashing  of  interests  occasioned  by  the  Inter- 
state Commerce  Bill,  is  only  another  indication  of  man's  in- 


PREFACE. 


capacity  to  manage  the  great  forces  of  this  nation  without 
God.  He  must  be  honored  and  His  love  must  be  spread 
abroad  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  before  conflicting  interests 
can  be  adjusted.  "Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law."  The 
words  of  Portia  to  Shylock  ought  to  be  written  upon  the 
American  heart : 

"The  quality  of  mercy  is  not  strain'd; 
It  droppeth  as  the  gentle  rain  from  heaven 
Upon  the  place  beneath;  it  is  twice  blessed; 
It  blesseth  him  that  gives  and  him  that  takes; 
'Tis  mightiest  in  the  mighties;  it  becomes 
The  throned  monarch  better  than  his  crown; 
It  is  enthroned  in  the  hearts  of  kings; 
It  is  an  attribute  of  God  himself. " 

The  famous  Gunpowder  Plot  was  one  of  the  deeply-laid 
schemes  of  the  Romanists  to  deal  a  fatal  blow  to  Protestant- 
ism in  England.  King  James  I.  had  succeeded  Elizabeth, 
and  under  the  encouragement  of  both  the  Reformation  was 
advancing.  The  plot  originated  with  Robert  Catesby,  a  man 
of  fortune.  Thomas  Winter,  and  Guy  Fawkes,  a  soldier  of 
fortune,  together  with  Wright,  Fresham  and  Percy,  were  en- 
listed. Their  purpose  was  "to  destroy  the  King,  Lords  and 
Commons  on  the  meeting  of  Parliament,  Nov.  5,  1605." 
They  hired  a  house  near  by  and  began  digging  their  mine. 
They  also  rented  a  cellar  under  the  House  of  Lords.  Here 
they  placed  a  hogshead,  thirty-six  barrels  of  gunpowder. 
Guy  Fawkes  was  to  fire  the  mine,  then  flee  by  ship  to  Flan- 
ders. The  day  before  Parliament  convened,  Lord  Monteagle 
received  a  letter  advising  him  "to  devise  some  excuse  to  shift 
off  your  attendance  at  this  Parliament,  for  God  and  man  hath 
both  concurred  to  punish  the  wickedness  of  this  time."  He 
carried  the  letter  to  the  King  and  an  immediate  search  was 
instituted.  The  mine  was  discovered,  Guy  Fawkes  was  ar- 
rested at  midnight  in  the  cellar,  the  officers  remarking  that 
"his  master  had  laid  in  plenty  of  fuel,"  and  the  horrible 


10  PREFACE. 


design  was  frustrated.  The  enemies  of  our  civil  and  religious 
liberties  have  been  digging  at  our  foundation  for  years,  and 
laying  a  mine.  Anarchism,  Socialism,  Secularism,  Romanism, 
Alcoholism,  Free  Love,  are  the  destructive  elements  with 
which  it  is  charged.  They  are  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the 
crucial  moment  when  they  will  fire  it. 

Wordsworth  complained  in  his  day  that  "Plain  living  and 
high  thinking  are  no  more."  Shairp  retorts  that  in  our  day 
high  living  and  plain  thinking  are  the  all-in-all.  Our  material 
prosperity  is  a  source  of  danger.  The  rich  are  getting  richer 
and  the  poor  are  getting  poorer.  "Our  national  wealth  in 
1880  was  estimated  to  be  $43,642,000,000.  It  cannot  be 
less  than  $50,000,000,000  now.  If  40,000  families  own  one- 
half  of  that,  they  have  an  average  of  $625,000  each;  or  esti- 
mating five  persons  to  each  family,  each  person  has  $125,000, 
while  the  64,800,000  who  own  the  other  half,  average  less 
than  $400  apiece.  Again,  if  250,000  families,  or  1,250,000 
persons,  own  three-fourths  of  the  present  wealth  of  the 
country,  the  average  for  each  person  is  $30,000,  while  the 
average  for  each  of  the  remaining  63,750,000  is  less  than 
$200.  But  many  of  these  millions  have  nothing.  Super- 
fluity on  the  one  hand  means  dire  want  on  the  other.  In  the 
richest  country  under  the  sun,  capable  of  supporting  in  com- 
fort 1,000,000,000  people,  a  majority  of  its  present  65,000,000 
inhabitants  have  a  hard  struggle  to  maintain  existence. 
While  the  rich  are  growing  richer  and  relatively  fewer  in  num- 
ber, the  .poor  are  becoming  more  numerous  and  relatively 
poorer  every  year."  (Strong.)  Out  of  this  chasm  between 
the  rich  and  the  poor  has  arisen  the  spirit  of  discontent  that 
produced  the  conflict  between  labor  and  capital.  It  cannot 
be  settled  until  employer  and  employe  are  each  willing  to  say 
to  the  other,  not  "all  yours  is  mine,"  but  "all  mine  is  yours." 
Strikes  are  multiplying  at  an  alarming  rate.  There  is  no  hope 


PREFACE.  11 


of  relief  until  employer  and  employe  are  ready  to  recognize 
each  others  rights  and  obligations.     Here  is  a  remedy: 

"To  thine  own  self  be  true; 
And  it  must  follow,  as  the  night  the  day, 
Thou  cans't  not  then  be  false  to  any  man." 

But  here  is  the  perfect  rule:  "Whatever  ye  would  that 
men  should  do  unto  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them."  St. 
Bernard  has  truthfully  said:  "Nothing  can  work  me  damage 
except  myself;  the  harm  that  I  sustain  I  carry  about  with 
me,  and  never  am  a  real  sufferer  but  by  my  own  fault." 

The  Roman  Hierarchy  is  a  menace  to  the  Republic.  Jes- 
uitry, the  Black  Pope,  is  a  lurking  foe.  Their  motto  is: 
"When  Protestants  are  in  the  majority  we  tolerate  freedom  of 
conscience,  because  that  is  their  belief.  But  when  Catholics 
are  in  the  majority  we  suppress  it,  because  that  is  our  belief." 
Vicar  General  Preston  said,  in  New  York  City,  not  long  ago : 
"The  Catholic  who  will  take  his  religion  from  Rome,  and  not 
his  politics,  is  not  a  good  Catholic."  That  is  treason. 
Driven  from  Europe  and  South  America,  they  are  crowding 
into  our  country.  Lafayette,  himself  a  Catholic,  said:  "If. 
the  liberties  of  the  American  people  are  ever  destroyed, 
they  will  fall  by  the  hands  of  the  Romish  clergy."  Let  us 
take  heed ! 

It  has  been  our  privilege  to  lecture  in  sixteen  States,  to 
address  one  hundred  colleges  and  universities,  and  preach  in 
many  of  our  leading  cities.  The  words  of  Abraham  Lincoln 
give  us  encouragement  in  our  work:  "With  public  senti- 
ment nothing  can  fail;  without  it  nothing  can  succeed.  Con- 
sequently he  who  molds  public  sentiment  goes  deeper  than 
he  who  enacts  statutes  or  pronounces  decisions.  He  makes 
statutes  or  decisions  possible  or  impossible  to  be  executed." 

Orlando  went  through  "the  forest  of  Arden"  carving  the 
name  of  Rosalind  on  the  barks  of  trees,  hanging  "odes  upon 


12  PREFACE. 


hawthorns  and   elegies  on  brambles — deifying  the  name  of 
Rosalind."     He  said : 

"O,  Rosalind!  these  trees  shall  be  my  books, 
And  in  the.r  barks  my  thoughts  I'll  character; 
That  every  eye,  which  in  this  forest  looks, 
Shall  see  thy  virtue  witnessed  everywhere." 

It  is  my  privilege  to  pass  from  forest  to  forest  of  our  citi- 
zens, carving  the  name  of  the  King  of  Kings  upon  the  hearts 
of  the  people,  in  the  hope  that  bye  and  bye  they  will  lift  up 
their  soul  to  Him,  with  one  accord,  and  say:  "Blessed  is  he 
that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord." 

An  Eastern  prince  was  taken  captive  and  lodged  in  a 
strong  castle.  His  devoted  servant  went  in  search  of  him. 
But  not  knowing  where  he  was  confined,  he  traveled  from 
tower  to  tower  singing  a  song  which  he  knew  his  master 
would  recognize.  At  last  he  came  to  the  right  prison,  and  a 
token  of  recognition  was  thrown  to  him  from  a  window  above. 
I  am  going  from  place  to  place  singing  my  song  of  loyalty  to 
King  Jesus,  and  ever  and  anon  tokens  of  recognition  are 
thrown  out  to  us  by  the  friends  of  our  Lord. 

The  following  passage  from  John  B  Gough's  "Platform 
Echoes"  will  discover  the  faith  in  which  we  work:  "Little 
Mary  Newton,  a  girl  four  years  of  age,  touches  an  electric 
instrument  with  her  baby  fingers,  and  the  sunken  rocks  that 
had  impeded  navigation  for  centuries  were  burst  in  pieces 
with  a  roar  and  a  crash  and  a  mighty  upheaval  of  the  water. 
Did  Mary  Newton  do  it?  Oh,  no.  There  had  been  men 
under  the  surface  placing  dynamite.  For  months  they  had 
worked  in  the  dark  and  in  the  wet.  Those  unseen  men,  who 
were  toiling  and  laboring  night  and  day,  while  ships  were 
sailing  over  them  and  men  were  passing  on  either  side,  un- 
conscious of  all  this  hard  toil — they  were  the  men  that  did 
the  work,  and  Mary  Newton  was  only  the  medium  that  God 
saw  fit  to  touch  the  instrument  that  sent  the  electric  current 


PREFACE.  13 


on  its  mission.  Now,  some  of  you  are  placing  dynamite. 
You  are  preparing  that  which  is  to  explode  by  and  by, 
when  God  sends  some  man  that  shall  apply  the  match,  or 
turn  on  the  electric  current." 

This  volume  is  practically  a  collection  of  addresses.  The 
greater  part  have  been  printed  in  the  Christian  Statesman. 
In  their  preparation  we  are  indebted  to  Mulford,  "The 
Nation,"  Brown,  "The  Sufferings  and  Glory  of  Christ," 
Symington,  "Messiah  the  Prince"  and  "Lectures  on  Second 
Reformation,"  Augustine,  "De  Civitate  Dei,"  Strong,  "Our 
Country,"  Cook,  Hetherington,  McCosh,  Arqhbishop  Trench, 
Canon  Farrar,  Pearson,  SchafT,  Gilfillan,  D'Aubigne,  Hodge, 
and  others.  As  Dr.  Donne  is  quoted  as  saying:  "Willing  to 
go  all  the  way  with  company,  and  to  take  light  from  others,  as 
well  in  the  journey  as  at  the  journey's  end.  And  if  in  the 
multiplicity  of  citations  there  appears  vanity  or  ostentation, 
my  honesty  must  make  my  excuse;  for  I  acknowledge  with 
Pliny,  'that  to  choose  rather  to  be  taken  in  a  theft  than  to  give 
every  man  his  due  est  obnoxii  animi  et  inf elide  in  genii'" 

Mrs.  Livermors  tell  us  how  the  ancient  Athenians  built  a 
temple  to  Minerva.  They  left  a  niche  for  her  statue.  Two 
sculptors  competed  for  the  privilege  of  filling  it.  The  day 
came  for  the  prize  to  be  awarded.  The  first  was  unveiled. 
It  was  beautiful,  perfect;  but  when  elevated  it  was  too 
small,  like  a  baby  doll.  The  second  was  unveiled.  It  was 
complete  as  the  other,  and  larger.  When  elevated  it  filled 
the  niche,  and  received  the  prize.  Phidias  was  crowned. 
That  this  book  may  fill  the  niche  prepared  for  it  by  God's 
providence  and  be  used  by  him  for  his  glory,  is.  our  earnest 
prayer. 

J.  M.  FOSTER. 

620  Freeman  Ave.,  Cincinnati,  O.,  April,  1890. 


CHAPTER  I. 


PRINCIPLES   OF   THE   SECOND    REFORMATION. 

America  is  a  child  of  the  Reformation.  It  is  well 
for  us  at  the  outset  to  look  to  the  land  where  the  prin- 
ciples of  our  civil  and  religious  liberty  had  their  birth. 

The  Christian  historian  recognizes  two  great  Re- 
formations. The  first  was  the  Reformation  from 
Popery,  in  the  sixteenth  century.  It  was  openly  in- 
augurated on  the  3 ist  of  October,  1517,  when  Martin 
Luther  nailed  his  95  theses  to  the  door  of  the  cathedral 
at  Wittenberg.  The  second  Reformation  was  from  a 
corrupt  and  tyrannical  form  of  Protestantism,  in  the 
seventeenth  century.  It  was  consummated  in  the 
swearing  of  the  national  covenant  at  Gray  Friars' 
Church,  Edinburgh,  on  the  28th  of  February,  1638. 
This  Reformation  was  concerned  with  the  purity  of 
both  Church  and  State.  It  laid  the  foundation  of  civil 
and  religious  liberty.  What  are  the  sources  from 
which  we  may  learn  the  principles  of  the  second  Re- 
formation? 

I.  The  National  Covenant  of  Scotland.  In  1534, 
King  Henry  VIII.  established  Prelacy  in  England,  or 
a  system  of  church  government  by  bishops  under  the 
authority  of  the  crown.  Roman  Catholicism  still  pre- 
vailed in  Scotland.  In  1581,  John  Craig's  Confession 
of  Faith,  otherwise  known  as  the  First  National  Cove- 


16  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

nant  of  Scotland,  a  heavy  field  piece  leveled  against 
the  Church  of  Rome,  was  sworn  and  subscribed  at 
Glasgow  by  the  King  himself,  James  VI.,  his  household, 
and  the  greater  part  of  the  nobility  and  gentry 
throughout  the  kingdom,  as  well  as  by  the  Assembly's 
Commoners.  From  1592  the  first  Reformation  de- 
clined. The  king  usurped  more  and  more  of  the 
church's  prerogatives.  But  in  1638,  after  a  revival  of 
the  Reformation  principles,  the  National  Covenant  of 
Scotland  was  renewed.  That  instrument  consists  of 
three  divisions:  I.  The  original  National  Covenant 
of  1581.  2.  A  list  of  Acts  of  Parliament,  which  we 
have  not  the  power  or  the  desire  to  consult.  3. 
The  oath  of  the  Covenanters,  in  which  they  pledge 
themselves:  First,  To  life-long  opposition  to  popery, 
prelacy,  Erastianism,  heresy,  schism,  and  everything 
that  was  contrary  to  sound  doctrine  and  power  of 
godliness;  and,  Secondly,  To  strenuous  endeavor  in 
promoting  the  interests  of  divine  truth,  the  welfare  and 
unity  of  Christ's  Church,  the  public  peace  and  pros- 
perity, and  the  glory  of  Christ  as  King  of  Kings  and 
Lord  of  Lords.  This  bond  was  signed  by  sixteen 
thousand  covenanters,  in  convention  assembled.  The 
scene  was  most  impressive,  "Some  wept  aloud;  some 
burst  into  a  shout  of  exultation;  some,  after  their 
names,  added  the  words  till  death;  and  some,  opening 
a  vein,  subscribed  with  their  own  warm  blood." 

II.  The  General  Assembly  of  Glasgow.  After  swear- 
ing the  National  Covenant  these  resolute  covenanters 
craved  a  free  Assembly,  and  a  free  Parliament. 
jCharles  I.  was  ruling,  and  he  wished  to  rule  without 


PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  SECOND  REFORMATION.      17 

either.  At  last  he  granted  them  a  free  General  As- 
sembly, upon  learning  that  the  church  had  re- 
solved to  call  one  upon  her  own  intrinsic  authority, 
should  his  concurrence  not  be  granted.  It  met  at 
Glasgow,  on  the  2ist  of  November,  1638.  His 
Majesty's  commissioner  attempted  to  restrain  its  free- 
dom. It  would  not  submit.  He  dissolved  it  in  his 
master's  name.  It  continued  its  work,  declared  null 
the  corrupt  and  unconstitutional  assemblies  held  under 
the  sway  of  prelacy,  abjured  Episcopacy,  revived 
Presbyterian  church  government,  and  demanded  of  the 
King  a  free  Assembly  and  a  free  Parliament,  and  "that 
all  ecclesiastical  matters  should  be  determined  by  the 
Assembly,  and  civil  matters  by  the  Parliament.''  This 
was  the  key-note  to  the  second  Reformation. 

III.  The  Solemn  League  and  Covenant.     This  bond 
consists  of  a  preamble,  six  articles  and  a  conclusion. 
It  was  framed  to  promote  the  Reformation  in  Scotland, 
England  and  Ireland.     In   1643   it  was  sworn  by  the 
Assembly  of  divines  at  Westminster,  and  both  Houses 
of  Parliament,  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland,    and   by    men    of  all    ranks,    and    taken 
and     subscribed     by    King     Charles    II.     at    Spey, 
June  23,1 650.    It  was  a  politico-ecclesiastical  covenant, 
and  embodied  an  acknowledgment  of  public  covenant- 
ing as  an  ordinance  of  God,  to  be  observed  by  churches 
and  nations. 

IV.  The  Assembly  of  Divines  at  Westminster.     The 
confession,  catechisms  and  directory  which  they  formu- 
lated   have  been    the   constitution   of    the  Reformed 
Church  ever  since. 


18  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

This  Assembly  represents  the  attainments  of  the 
church  in  the  second  Reformation.  "These  documents," 
says  Dr.  A.  Symington,  "are  distinguished  by  the 
purity  of  their  style,  the  soundness  of  their  evangelical 
doctrine,  and  the  comprehensiveness  of  their  views. 
They  were  prepared  with  much  prayer  and  labor,  and 
and  remain  monuments  of  the  piety  and  talent,  erudi- 
tion and  industry,  fidelity  and  zeal  of  the  reformers  of 
that  day,  as  they  are  legitimate  evidence  of  their  prin- 
ciples.'5 What,  now,  are  the  principles  of  the  second 
Reformation? 

I.  That  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  been  exalted  to  the 
throne  of  universal  dominion.     This  doctrine  naturally 
comes  first.     It  lies  at  the  foundation  of  the  whole  me- 
diatorial work,  as  now  discharged  by  the  world's  Re- 
deemer.    He  is  the  Head  of  His  Church.     He  is  King 
of  nations.     He  has  been  made  Head  over  all  things  to 
His  Church.     All  power  in  heaven  and  earth  has  been 
given  to  Him. 

II.  That  the  Church  and  the  Nation  are  two  mutually 
separate  and  independent  moral  persons,  each  subject  in 
its  sphere  to  the  Mediator,  and  yet  sustaining  the  re- 
lation of  the  most  intimate  and  cordial  co-operation. 
The  reformers  held  that  the  church  is  a  moral  agent, 
having    a  unity  and  continuity  running    through    the 
centuries  from  her  birth  to  the  present  time;  and  that 
the  nation  is  a  moral  agent,  having  a  unity  and  con- 
tinuity running   through  the    generations    of  its   life. 
They  maintained  that  the  church  had  an  organic  life, 
and  the  nation  had  an  organic  life;    that  the  church 
could  keep  God's  law,  and  likewise  the  nation;  that  the 


PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  SECOND  REFORMATION.      19 

church  could  have  her  sins  forgiven,  and  so  could  the 
nation;  that  the  church  could  fast,  and  give  thanks,  and 
keep  the  Sabbath  day,  and  the  nation  could  do  the 
same.  They  maintained  that  the  church  should  not 
dominate  the  nation,  as  in  the  Papacy,  nor  the  nation 
lord  it  over  the  church,  as  in  Erastian  establishments, 
but  that  each  should  be  sovereign  and  independent  in 
its  sphere,  recognizing,  honoring  and  obeying  the 
Mediator  as  Head  and  King.  They  maintained  that 
the  nation  existed  for  the  sake  of  the  church  in  the 
mediatorial  kingdom,  and  that  in  guarding  and  sus- 
taining her,  and  in  laying  under  contribution  all  the 
political  forces  for  her  enlargement  and  establishment, 
it  is  best  serving  the  reigning  Mediator. 

III.  That  the  Word  of  God  is  the  supreme  and  ulti- 
mate authority  in  both  Church  and  State.    On  the  I5th 
of  February,  1584,  when  Andrew  Melville  was  brought 
before  the  privy  council,  unclasping  his  Hebrew  Bible 
from  his  girdle,  and  throwing  it  on  the  table,  he  said: 
"These  are   my  instructions:    see  if  any  of  you  can 
judge  of  them,  or  show  that  I  have  passed  my  injunc- 
tions."     This    was    the    watchword    of    the    Second 
Reformation.    God  alone  is  Lord  of  conscience.    Only 
His  will  is  law  for  it.     Man  binding  man's  conscience 
is   contrary  to    the    plainest   intuitions  of  the  human 
soul.     Any  law,  either  in  Church  or  State,  that  con- 
travenes the  law  of  God  is  no  law  at  all.     "To  the  law 
and  to  the  testimony,  if  they  speak  not  according  to 
this  word  it  is  because  there  is  no  light  in  them." 

IV.  That  public  covenanting  is  a  duty  binding  upon 
churches  and  nations.     The  reformers  exemplified  this 


20  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

in  the  two  great  deeds  to  which  allusion  has  already 
been  made.  When  James  Guthrie  was  on  the  scaffold 
he  lifted  the  napkin  off  his  face,  just  before  he  was 
turned  over,  and  cried:  "The  covenants,  the  covenants, 
shall  yet  be  Scotland's  reviving."  On  the  23d  of  July, 
1706,  the  remnant  of  Cameronian  covenanters  in  Scot- 
land, who,  on  account  of  the  disastrous  policy  of 
William,  Prince  of  Orange,  and  the  Church's  sinful 
compliance  in  the  admission  of  prelatic  incumbents, 
had  never  joined  the  Church  of  Scotland  as  established ' 
at  the  Revolution  of  1688,  solemnly  renewed  these 
covenants  at  Auchinsaugh,  pledging  themselves  anew 
to  maintain  those  principles  on  behalf  of  which  their 
fathers  had  baptized  the  mountains  and  moors  of  Scot- 
land with  their  blood. 

These  are  the  blood-bought  principles  which  the 
Fathers  brought  to  America.  Here  Providence  pre- 
pared a  field  for  their  development. 

In  an  address  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  Dr.  J.  M.  King 
quotes  a  few  passages  indicating  God's  providential 
purpose"  in  America.  Dr.  Dorner,  after  visiting  this 
country  in  1873,  said:  "Columbus  was  encouraged  by 
the  hope  that  the  new  land  would  serve  the  honor  of 
our  Redeemer.  This  is  not  accomplished  in  the  sense 
of  Columbus,  through  the  conversion  of  the  heathen, 
but  in  a  far  higher  sense.  The  discovery  of  America 
has  a  connection  in  time  and  spirit  with  the  Reforma- 
tion, for,  as  it  were,  a  new  land  arose  from  out  of  the 
sea  to  serve  as  a  bulwark  and  a  reserve  for  the  church 
of  the  Reformation.  The  Americans  feel  already  that 
they  have  a  special  mission;  namely,  to  march  in  their 


PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  SECOND  REFORMATION.      21 

fresh,  earnest  way  into  the  fight  against  the  skeptical 
and  the  superstitious,  at  the  same  time  showing 
Christianity  in  a  new  light,  as  a  living  force  which 
needs  no  outward  human  aid  in  order  to  make  itself 
respected,  but  which  free  spirits  most  need.'5  Dr. 
Schaff  says:  "In  the  United  States,  where  all  denom- 
inations are  equal  before  the  law,  and  stand  on  the 
same  voluntary  footing  of  self-support  and  self-gov- 
ernment, the  Christian  activities  keep  pace  with  the 
enormous  tide  of  immigration,  and  the  intellectual, 
social  and  commercial  growth  of  the  people;  and  the 
churches,  schools,  colleges,  seminaries,  libraries,  home 
and  foreign  missionary  societies,  and  all  sorts  of 
benevolent  institutions  are  there,  by  the  joint  zeal  of 
the  different  denominations,  multiplying  with  a  rapidity 
that  has  no  parallel  in  the  annals  of  the  past."  De 
Tocqueville  said  fifty  years  ago:  "Although  the  trav- 
elers who  have  visited^North  America  differ  on  many 
points,  they  all  agree  ;n  remarking  that  morals  are  far 
more  strict  there  than  elsewhere.  It  is  evident  that, 
on  this  point,  the  Americans  are  very  superior  to  their 
progenitors,  the  English."  "The  new  States  must  be 
religious  in  order  to  be  free.  Society  must  be 
destroyed  unless  the  Christian  moral  tie  be  strengthened 
in  proportion  as  the  political  tie  is  relaxed;  and  what 
can  be  done  with  a  people  who  are  their  own  masters, 
if  they  be  not  submissive  to  Deity?  It  cannot  be 
doubted  that  in  the  United  States  the  instruction  of 
the  people  contributes  powerfully  to  the  support  of 
the  democratic  republic;  and  such  must  always  be  the 
case,  I  believe,  where  the  instruction  which  enlightens 


22  RE  FORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

the  understanding  is  not  separated  from  the  moral 
education  which  amends  the  heart.  The  sects  which 
exist  in  the  United  States  are  innumerable.  They  all 
differ  in  respect  to  the  worship  which  is  due  to  the 
Creator;  but  they  all  agree  in  respect  to  the  duties 
which  are  due  from  man  to  man.  Christian  morality 
is  everywhere  the  same.  Christianity,  by  regulating 
domestic  life,  regulates  the  state.  Every  principle  of 
the  moral  world  is  fixed  and  determinate.  Religious 
zeal  is  warmed  by  the  fires  of  patriotism.  The  great- 
est part  of  British  America  was  peopled  with  men 
who,  after  having  shaken  off  the  authority  of  the  Pope, 
acknowledged  no  other  religious  supremacy.  They 
brought  with  them  into  the  New  World  a  form 
of  Christianity  which  I  cannot  better  describe  than  by 
styling  it  a  democratic  and  republican  religion.  This 
contributed  powerfully  to  the  establishment  of  a 
republic  and  a  democracy  in  public  affairs;  and  from 
the  beginning,  politics  and  religion  contracted  an 
alliance  which  has  never  been  dissolved.''  As  to  moral 
legislation,  not  only  the  protection  of  society  but  the 
honor  of  God  are  concerned.  Dr.  Woolsey  says: 
"On  the  whole,  while  laws  against  irreligious  acts 
notice  them  in  part  on  account  of  their  human  evils,  I 
cannot  help  finding  in  them  another  element,  proceed- 
ing from  religious  feelings  themselves,  from  reverence 
for  the  Divine  Being  irrespective  of  their  injury  to 
human  society.  Man  in  his  legislation  cannot  get  rid 
of  his  sentiments:  even  in  the  later  attempts  at  legis- 
lation, when  the  limits  are  more  exactly  drawn  between 
that  which  is  injurious  to  society  in  some  specific  way, 


PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  SECOND  REFORMATION.      23 

and  that  which  is  sinful,  the  sentiment  will  assert  its 
right  in  defining    crime    or    enhancing    punishment." 
President  Dwight,  of  Columbia  College  Law   School, 
says:  "It  is  well  settled  by  decisions  in  the  courts  of 
the  leading  Stafes  of  the  Union  that  Christianity  is  a 
part  of  the  common  law  of  the  State.     Its  recognition 
is  shown  in  the  administration  of  oaths  in  the  courts 
of  justice,  in  the  rules  which  punish  those  who  wilfully 
blaspheme,  in  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  in  the 
prohibition  of  profanity,  in  the  legal  establishment  of 
permanent   charitable  trusts,  and    the    legal    principle 
which  controls  a  parent  in  the  education  and  training 
of  his  children.      One  of  the   American  courts  states 
the    law    in    this    manner:    'Christianity  is  and  always 
has  been  a  part   of  the    common   law    of  the    state. 
Christianity  without  the  spiritual  artillery  of  European 
countries — not  Christianity  founded  on  any  particular 
tenets,  not  Christianity  with  an  established  church  and 
titles  and  spiritual  courts,  but  Christianity  with  liberty 
of    conscience    to    all    men.'     The    American     States 
adopted    these    principles   from    the   common   law   of 
England,   rejecting    such   portions  of  the  English  law 
on  this  subject  as  were  not  suited  to  their  customs  and 
institutions.      Our  national  acknowledgment  has  in  it 
the  best  and  finest  elements  of  historic  Christianity  as 
related  to  the  government  of  States.     Should  we  tear 
Christianity  out  of  our  law,  we  would  rob  our  law  of 
its  fairest  jewels,   we   would   deprive  it  of  its  richest 
treasures,  we  would  arrest  its  growth,  and  bereave  it 
of  its  capacity  to  adapt  itself  to  the  progress  in  cult- 
ure, refinement    and    morality  of    those    for    whose 


24  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

benefit  it  properly  exists."  Goldwin  Smith  says:  c<Not 
democracy  in  America,  but  free  Christianity  in  Amer- 
ica, is  the  real  key  to  the  study  of  the  people  and  their 
institutions." 

The  State  must  have  a  religion."  Plutarch,  the 
disciple  of  Plato,  remarks  with  truth  and  beauty: 
"There  has  never  been  a  State  of  atheists.  If  you 
wander  over  the  earth  you  may  find  cities  without 
walls,  without  king,  without  mint,  without  theatre  or 
gymnasium;  but  you  will  never  find  a  city  without 
God,  without  prayer,  without  oracle,  without  sacrifice. 
Sooner  may  a  city  stand  without  foundations  than  a 
State  without  belief  in  the  gods.  This  is  the  bond  of 
all  society  and  the  pillar  of  all  legislation."  Religion 
is  the  only  preservative  power  of  the  State.  Religion 
may  be  used  to  signify  a  system  of  doctrines,  or  a 
cultus  or  worship,  or  obedience  to  God.  It  is  used  in 
the  last  sense  here:  "Righteousness,''  obedience  to 
the  law  of  God,  "exalteth  a  nation."  This  is  con- 
firmed by  the  wisest  and  best  of  men.  Montesquieu 
affirms,  ' 'Religion  is  the  support  of  society.''  Burke 
declares,  "We  know,  and,  what  is  better,  we  feel  in- 
wardly that  religion  is  the  basis  of  civil  society,  and  the 
source  of  all  good  and  comfort.''  Washington  said, 
uOf  all  the  habits  and  dispositions  that  lead  to  political 
prosperity,  religion  and  morality  are  indispensable  sup- 
ports.'' And  Gladstone  adds,  ' 'Religion  is  the  only  pre- 
servative element  of  civil  government." 

These  principles  were  not  embodied  in  our  funda- 
mental law,  and,  hence,  the  nation  has  been  drifting 
awayfromthem.  The  National  Reform  Association  was 


PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  SECOND  REFORMATION.      25 

organized  in  1864.  It  includes  in  its  ranks  men  of  the 
highest  Christian  type  in  our  land.  The  object  is  to 
engraft  upon  our  govern  nent  these  fundamental  prin- 
ciples: That  God  is  the  source  of  all  authority,  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  King  of  Nations,  and  the  Bible  the 
fountain  of  all  law.  It  is  proposed  to  have  a  national 
law,  making  the  U.  S.  postal  service  and  inter-state 
commerce  unlawful  on  the  Lord's  day,  a  uniform 
national  divorce  law,  a  national  prohibitory  liquor  law, 
and  a  civil  service  reform  which  requires  integrity  and 
high  moral  worth  as  qualifications  for  office. 

Constantine  saw  a  cross  suspended  from  the  heavens 
bearing  this  motto:  In  hoc  signo  vinces  (By  this  sign 
thou  shalt  conquer).  Following  it  he  entered  Rome 
and  assumed  the  purple  in  A.  D.  323.  Paganism  went 
down  and  Christianity  ascended  the  throne  of  the 
Caesars.  The  National  Reform  Association  has  seen 
the  sign  of  Christ's  crown  and  covenant,  and  following 
it  they  propose  to  storm  the  fortifications  of  Satan  in 
our  land,  and  exalt  the  King  of  kings  to  the  throne. 


CHAPTER   II. 


TERMS   DEFINED. 

When  Webster  was  asked  how  he  attained  such  clear 
ideas,  he  replied,  "By  attention  to  definitions." 

Mr.  Tennyson  remarked  at  an  anniversary  meeting 
of  the  Metaphysical  Society:  "Modern  science  ought 
at  any  rate  to  have  taught  us  one  thing — how  to  sepa- 
rate light  from  heat. "  What  we  want  in  the  National 
Reform  movement  is  not  the  heat  of  angry  debate,  but 
the  light  of  candid  discussion.  And  that  is  the  policy 
of  the  National  Reform  Association  in  sending  so  many 
agents  into  the  field. 

Prof.  Jevons,  in  concluding  his  discussion  of  "The 
State  in  Relation  to  Labor,"  remarks:  "The  subject  is 
one  in  which  we  need,  above  all  things,  discrimina- 
tion." "In  the  beginning  and  through  the  middle  and 
at  the  end  of  all  discussion  of  the  mutual  obligations 
and  rights  of  men  in  a  free  state,  we  shall  do  well  to 
keep  in  mind  this  first  need  of  discrimination."  (An- 
dover  Review,  April,  1885.)  In  this  discussion  we 
must  discriminate  between  the  nation  and  its  govern- 
ment, the  convention  and  congress,  constitutional  and 
statutory  law.  The  nation  is  the  principal,  the  gov- 
ernment is  its  agent.  The  convention  makes  the  con- 
stitution, the  congress  the  statute.  But  still  we  raise 
the  questions:  What  is  the  nation?  What  is  the  gov- 
ernment? What  is  the  constitution? 


TERMS  DEFINED.  27 


A  nation  is  the  creature  of  God.  It  is  not  a  human 
device.  It  is  not  of  man,  neither  by  the  will  of 
man,  but  of  God.  It  is  not  made;  it  is  born,  nascor, 
born  of  God's  providence.  Rome  was  built  by  man. 
It  was  an  empire  built  up  of  cities.  There  was  no 
bond  of  union.  To  cities  it  again  returned.  (Guizot's 
History  of  Civilization,  page  47.)  England  has  made 
herself  a  great  name  by  conquest  and  annexation.  But 
the  question  with  her  to-day  is,  Shall  it  be  confedera- 
tion or  disintegration?  (Nineteenth  Century,  March 
1 88 5,  "Imperial  Federation,"  W.  E.  Forster.)  The  real 
English  nation  is  small.  The  national  spirit  is  from 
God,  and  wherever  that  national  life  throbs,  there  is 
the  nation.  The  nation,  in  the  larger  and  more  ex- 
tended sense,  is  the  whole  mass  of  the  people  in  whose 
bosoms  the  national  spirit  is  fervid.  This  national 
spirit,  which  makes  the  patriot  willing  to  suffer  and  die 
for  his  country,  is  from  God,  and  may  be  cultivated 
until,  like  the  Greek's,  no  power  of  invading  foe  can 
crush  it.  Since  we  come  into  the  world  imbued  with 
this  national  life,  it  is  obvious  that  we  are  born  into  the 
nation.  This  spirit  is  in  us  by  nature.  It  is  there,  and 
we  cannot  divest  ourselves  of  it.  Just  as  we  are  mem- 
bers of  the  family  in  which  we  are  born,  and  have  in  us 
the  spirit  of  the  family  life,  so  we  are  members  of  the 
national  body  in  which  we  were  born  and  are  animated 
by  the  national  life.  The  spirit  of  nationality  may  be 
acquired  through  the  process  of  naturalization  by  a 
foreigner.  But  in  the  case  of  a  native  born  citizen  it 
is  in  him  by  nature.  By  birth  he  is  a  member  of  the 
nation.  This  is  the  national  body.  It  is  the  sphere  of 


28  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

civil  rights.  Every  man,  woman  and  child  within  the 
national  domain  has  a  right  to  life,  liberty  and  property, 
to  educate  and  be  educated,  to  buy  and  sell,  to  marry 
and  give  in  marriage,  to  discuss  questions  of  public 
interest  with  tongue  or  pen,  to  give  and  receive  title 
deeds,  to  pay  taxes.  The  anti-Chinese  bill  is  in  con- 
travention of  man's  inalienable  rights.  God  has  ordained 
that  every  human  being  shall  enjoy  his  civil  rights  in  all 
places  of  the  earth.  The  national  body  is  an  institution 
of  civil  rights. 

But  the  body  of  the  man  alone  is  not  the  man. 
Within  the  body  resides  the  soul.  The  soul  makes 
man  an  intelligent,  responsible  agent.  Intelligence 
and  freedom  are  the  ground  of  personality.  The 
personality  of  the  man  resides  in  the  soul.  Within  the 
mass  of  the  people  occupying  the  national  domain, 
there  is  the  "voting  body,"  about  twelve  millions. 
That  "voting  body"  represents  the  intelligence  and 
freedom  of  the  nation.  The  personality  of  the  nation 
resides  in  it.  It  is  not  a  voluntary  body.  All  who  are 
native  born  or  naturalized,  whether  male  or  female, 
who  have  intelligence  (i.  e.,  are  not  demented)  and  who 
have  come  to  years  when  that  intelligence  is  available 
which  makes  them  free  (i.  e. ,  who  are  over  twenty-one 
years  old)  are  natural  members  of  it.  It  is  the  nation 
in  the  narrower  and  more  limited  sense.  It  is  the 
sphere  of  sovereignty.  (See  The  Nation,  by  Mulford, 
pp.  211,  212.)  Just  as  the  soul,  in  which  resides  the 
human  personality,  is  the  sovereign  of  the  body,  so 
the  "voting  body,"  in  which  resides  the  national  per- 
sonality, is  the  sovereign  of  the  mass  of  the  people. 


TERMS  DEFINED.  -  29 

The  soul  is  responsible  for  the  acts  of  man,  whether 
physical,  mental,  or  both.  The  "voting  body"  is  re- 
sponsible for  the  acts  of  the  whole  people.  The  punish- 
ment of  the  man  may  fall  upon  the  body,  or  mind,  or 
both.  The  punishment  of  the  nation  may  fall  upon  the 
mass  in  physical  judgments,  or  upon  the  "voting  body" 
in  "blindness  of  mind,  strong  delusions,"  &c.  The 
"voting  body"  is  the  soul  of  the  nation.  It  thinks  for  the 
nation.  It  is  the  sphere  of  national  sovereign  rights. 
The  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  King  of  kings,  proposes 
His  law  to  this  sovereign  "voting  body"  for  their  ac- 
ceptance. They  receive  it.  That  moment  the  moral 
law  becomes  a  national  covenant  between  them  and  the 
"Governor  of  the  nations."  It  is  their  constitution. 
They  say,  with  Israel,  at  Sinai,  "All  that  the  Lord 
hath  said  we  will  do  and  be  obedient. "  It  should  be 
contained  in  the  preamble  to  the  national  constitution. 
Then  it  would  read:  "We,  the  people,  acknowledging 
Almighty  God  as  the  source  of  all  authority  and  power, 
Jesus  Christ  as  the  ruler  of  the  nations,  and  the  Bible 
as  the  fountain  of  all  law,  do  ordain,"  &c,  The  pre- 
amble is  the  constitution  of  the  "sovereign  body." 
The  "sovereign  body"  is  bound  by  it,  and  has  no  right 
to  reject  it,  or  even  alter  or  amend  it,  except  in  accord- 
with  the  mind  and  will  of  the  "Prince  of  the  kings  of 
the  earth."  In  subjection  to  it  the  "sovereign  body" 
makes  the  national  constitution.  A  constitution  is 
simply  the  moral  law  translated  into  the  forms  of 
national  life.  But  when  this  sovereign  "voting  body" 
accepts  of  the  constitution  and  acts  under  it,  it  becomes 
a  " political  body  "  It  is  constituted  of  the  same  voters, 


30  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

but  they. were  acting  in  their  sovereign  capacity  in 
making  and  adopting  the  constitution,  and  in  their  polit- 
ical capacity  in  accepting  authority  under  the  consti- 
tution. This  "political  body"  is  the  sphere  of  political 
rights.  In  it  the  members  have  a  right  to  vote,  and  hold 
office  and  direct  the  political  life  of  the  nation.  All 
who  exercise  their  political  rights  in  it  are  reckoned 
as  accepting  the  constitution  and  taking  the  oath  to  sup- 
port it.  It  is  the  "governing  body"  in  the  land.  It  is 
the  political  sovereign.  The  constitution  is  a  political 
covenant  between  the  "national  body"  and  the  "gov- 
erning body."  The  Government  in  the  larger  sense 
means  the  whole  system  of  offices,  including  the  ex- 
ecutive, legislative  and  judicial  departments,  in  which 
civil  authority  is  exercised,  as  we  speak  of  our  reoub- 
lican  government.  In  the  narrower  sense  it  signifies 
the  administration,  as  we  speak  of  the  Arthur  and 
Cleveland  administrations.  England  has  had  twenty- 
one  governments  since  1827.  France  has  had  twelve 
governments  in  the  last  decade.  In  either  case 
the  government  is  under  oath  to  carry  out  the 
constitution.  It  is  the  sphere  of  official  rights. 
The  government  applies  the  constitution  to  the  in- 
dividual citizen  through  the  statutes.  The  indi- 
vidual citizen  is  subject  to  the  statute  in  the  hands 
of  the  government,  the  government  to  the  constitu- 
tion in  the  hands  of  the  "political  body,"  the  "po- 
litical body"  to  the  constitution  in  the  hands  of  the 
"national  body,"  the  "national  body"  to  the  moral  law 
in  the  hands  of  Christ,  and  Christ  to  the  moral  law  in 
the  hands  of  God,  who  is  all  in  all.  But  it  is  the  same 


TERMS  DEFINED.  31 

law  throughout.  Statutory  law  is  constitutional  law 
unraveled;  constitutional  law  is  the  moral  law  unrav 
eled;  the  moral  law  is  Jesus  Christ  translated  into  life, 
and  Christ  is  the  revelation  of  God. 

Now  the  "sovereign  body"  breaks  this  chain  which 
connects  the  nation  with  the  mediatorial  throne.  It  re- 
jects Christ  as  King,  and  will  not  accept  of  his  law. 
On  the  contrary,  it  adopts  a  godless  institution.  This 
is  a  national  sin  which  will  be  fatal  if  not  put  away. 

In  the  tower  of  the  cathredral  at  Strasburg  there  is  a 
clock,  wonderful  in  its  combinations,  marvelously  com- 
plicated. The  praises  of  the  maker  were  spoken  by  all 
the  people.  The  reigning  prince  became  jealous  and 
cast  him  into  prison.  The  condition  of  his  being  liber- 
ated was  a  promise  that  he  would  never  make  another 
like  it.  This  he  stoutly  refused  to  give.  Then  the 
prince  ordered  his  eyes  to  be  put  out.  The  artist  asked 
to  be  led  to  the  tower  that  he  might  adjust  his  clock 
before  the  sentence  be  executed.  He  touched  a  secret 
spring  which  deranged  the  machinery  and  the  work  was 
spoiled  forever.  No  artisan  in  Europe  could  restore  it. 
The  workman  and  his  work  went  out  together. 

This  nation  was  called  into  being  by  the  King  of 
kings.  It  has  been  nurtured  by  His  providence.  He 
alone  can  maintain  its  life.  If  He  touch  the  fountain 
of  life  we  perish.  We  have  rejected  Him  and  virtually 
said,  "Who  is  the  Lord  that  we  should  obey  Him?"  If 
we  persist  in  Ithis  rebellion,  the  secret  spring  of  national 
life  will  be  touched  and  we  will  perish  forever. 

For  many  years  previous  to  1845,  it  had  been 
known  that  the  planet  Uranus  was  subject  to  certain 


32  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

perturbations  in  its  orbit,  which  could  not  be  accounted 
for  by  the  attraction  of  the  sun  or  the  other  planetary 
bodies.  From  the  nature  and  amount  of  these  pertur- 
bations, Le  Verrier,  a  French  mathematician,  demon- 
strated the  existence  of  an  undiscovered  planet;  and 
so  completely  had  he  determined  its  place  in  the 
distant  heavens  that  when  Dr.  Galle,  of  the  Berlin 
Observatory,  pointed  his  telescope  to  the  place  desig- 
nated by  Le  Verrier,  he  not  only  found  the  new 
planet,  but  found  it  within  one  degree  of  its  computed 
location.  The  star  of  our  Republic,  the  brightest  in 
the  galaxy  of  nations,  is  to-day  subject  to  certain 
moral  perturbations.  The  discerning  reformer  recog- 
nizes this  as  due  to  the  rising  "bright  and  morning 
star,"  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  day  of  great  refor- 
mation is  near  at  hand.  He  is  come,  and  "unto  Him 
shall  the  gathering  of  the  people  be." 


CHAPTER    III. 


THE    MORAL    RESPONSIBILITY    AND    ACCOUNTABILITY 
OF   NATIONS. 

What  is  a  nation? 

It  is  not  a  mere  aggregation  of  individuals.  Aris- 
totle held  that  the  whole  was  before  the  parts.  This 
nation  existed  as  a  body  before  the  individuals  now 
living  in  it  were  born.  Caius  Marcus  denounced  the 
mob  in  Rome  as  "the  detached  and  disorganized 
rabble,3'  in  whom  there  was  nothing  of  the  national 
unity.  "Go,  get  you  home,  you  fragments.5' 

It  is  not  the  government.  There  was  the  deepest 
folly  in  the  exclamation  of  Louis  XIV.,  "I  am  the 
State!"  The  government  is  the  agent  set  up  by  the 
nation  to  carry  out  its  will.  The  nation  exists  before 
the  government,  and  the  government  is  answerable  to 
the  nation. 

It  is  not  a  voluntary  association.  A  man  may  join 
a  voluntary  association  or  not,  just  as  he  elects.  But 
has  he  this  option  in  civil  society?  He  is  born  into 
the  nation,  and  is  by  nature  subject  to  its  laws.  He 
is  in  his  normal  state  in  the  nation  just  as  much  as 
in  the  family.  The  corporation  and  the  nation  differ 
as  the  artificial  and  the  natural.  A  "banking  associa- 
tion," which  Blackstone  terms  "an  artificial  person- 
ality," is  the  creature  of  the  nation,  is  responsible  to 
the  nation,  and  appeal  can  always  be  had  from  it  to 


34  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

the  nation.  But  the  nation  is  the  creature  of  God, 
accountable  to  none  but  Him  for  the  use  of  the  great 
powers  with  which  He  has  invested  it. 

It  is  not  a  league.  The  late  war  settled  that.  The 
South  said:  "This  is  only  a  league  of  sovereign 
States.  You  have  no  right  to  coerce  a  sovereign 
State.  The  right  of  secession  is  inalienable.  We 
demand  a  separation."  And  except  this  nation  is  a 
moral  person  the  South  was  right  and  the  war  an 
outrage.  But  the  North  answered:  "No;  this  is  not  a 
league.  It  is  a  nation.  It  is  a  moral  person.  To 
divide  it  is  suicidal.  The  Union  shall  be  preserved; 
peaceably,  if  you  will;  forcibly,  if  we  must.'5  The 
decision  is  on  record,  traced  in  blood,  with  an  iron 
pen,  that  this  is  a  nation. 

//  is  an  organism.  It  has  a  unity  and  a  continuity 
running  through  the  generations.  The  nation  of 
Israel  was  the  same  under  her  judges  and  kings,  the 
same  from  her  organization  at  Sinai  until  the  Roman 
eagles  were  set  up  in  Jerusalem.  Rome  was  the 
same  under  her  kings,  her  emperors,  her  consuls,  her 
decemvirs,  and  her  military  tribunes.  France  was  the 
same  nation  under  her  feudal,  imperial,  and  republican 
governments.  The  United  States  is  the  same  nation 
under  the  Articles  of  Confederation  and  the  Constitu- 
tion. Mulford  says:  "The  origin  of  the  nation  is  not  in 
the  will  of  the  individual,  nor  in  the  will  of  the  whole,  but 
the  higher  will,  without  which  the  whole  can  have  no 
being,  and  its  continuity  is  not  in  the  changing  inter- 
ests of  men,  but  in  the  vocation  which,  in  a  widening 
purpose  from  the  fathers  to  the  children,  joins  the  gen- 


THE  MORAL  RESPONSIBILITY.  35 

erations  of  men,  and  its  unity  is  not  in  the  concurrent 
choice  of  a  certain  number  of  men,  but  in  the  divine 
purpose  in  history  which  brings  to  one  end  the 
unnumbered  deeds  of  unnumbered  men."  There  is  a 
deep  truth  in  the  words  of  Cicero,  "The  State  is 
formed  for  eternity.'' 

It  is  a  conscious  organism.  "The  nation,''  says  M. 
Thiers,  "is  that  being  which  reflects  and  determines  its 
own  action  and  purposes.''  A  nation  has  a  life  and  is 
sensitive  like  a  man.  Think  of  the  thrill  our  nation 
experienced  when  Sumter  was  fired  upon.  Did  not 
the  national  life  course  faster  and  its  pulse  beat  quicker 
at  the  intelligence?  We  aver  that  the  nation  has  a 
soul.  The  French  priest,  Pere  Hyacinthe,  said,  "What 
I  admire  most  in  a  nation  is  its  soul.''  Moral  princi- 
ples constitute  the  soul  of  a  nation,  and  as  long  as 
they  are  preserved  the  nation  will  live,  for  "the  eternal 
years  of  God  are  hers.'' 

It  is  a  moral  organism.  It  has  all  the  properties 
and  is  subject  to  the  laws  of  a  living,  responsible  agent. 
It  has  reason,  will  and  conscience.  It  is  capable  of 
rights  and  obligations.  It  contracts  debts  and  may 
not  repudiate.  It  makes  treaties  and  may  not  break 
them  with  impunity.  It  has  a  character  for  good  or 
evil.  What  is  more  common  in  the  Scriptures  than 
"ungodly  nation,''  "hypocritical  nation,"  "wicked 
nation;5'  and  "holy  nation,"  "righteous  nation,''  "godly 
nation?"  Even  the  Romans  could  stigmatize  the 
Carthagenians  with  the  stinging  imputation  of  "Punic 
faith,"  and  the  embittered  poet  could  speak  in  loathing 
terms  of  "perfidious  Albion.''  Milton,  the  great 


36  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

English  poet  and  statesman,  said:  "A  nation  ought  to 
be  but  one  huge  Christian  personage;  one  mighty 
growth  of  an  honest  man,  as  big  and  compact  in  virtue 
as  in  body."  The  different  years  of  man's  life  cor- 
respond to  the  different  generations  of  a  nation's  life; 
and  it  is  no  more  absolved  from  obligations  incurred 
in  past  generations  than  a  man  by  becoming  old  is 
free  from  the  obligations  of  his  misspent  youth. 

A  man  commits  murder.  Ten  years  after  he  is  ar- 
rested, tried,  convicted  and  executed.  Now,  according 
to  physiology,  every  particle  in  his  body  has  been 
exchanged  for  new  particles,  so  that  the  crime  was 
committed  in  one  body  and  expiated  in  another. 
Does  the  law  recognize  this  change?  Not  at  all.  He 
is  the  same  identical  person  in  both  cases,  and  as  such 
is  punished.  So-  with  the  nation.  The  whole  body  is 
renewed  every  generation,  but  the  personality  remains 
the  same  from  generation  to  generation,  through  all 
the  centuries  of  the  nation's  life.  A  man  takes  a  knife 
in  his  hand  and  strikes  it  to  his  brother's  heart.  They 
do  not  hang  his  hand;  they  hang  his  head.  If  one 
man  kill  another  with  his  foot,  they  do  not  hang  his 
foot,  but  his  head.  Capital  punishment  means  to  take 
off  the  head.  Why  one  member  suffer  for  another? 
A  man  steals  with  his  hands,  and  they  put  the  whole 
body  in  the  penitentiary.  Why  the  whole  body  suffer 
for  the  wickedness  of  one  of  its  members?  It  is  the 
person  that  suffers,  and  no  matter  upon  what  member 
the  punishment  fall,  the  same  responsible  agent  suffers. 
A  nation  is  a  creature  of  God,  and  at  His  pleasure  He 
punishes  the  tenth  generation  for  the  sins  of  the  first, 


THE  MORAL  RESPONSIBILITY.  37 

as  in  the  case  of  Amalek;  the  people  for  the  sins  of 
the  ruler,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Gibeonites;  and  the 
ruler  for  the  sins  of  the  people,  as  in  the  case  of  Zede- 
kiah,  whose  sons  were  slain  before  him,  his  eyes  put 
out,  and,  bound  in  fetters  of  brass,  he  was  carried  to 
Babylon. 

The  national  person  suffers.  Hence  our  officials  at 
Washington  became  corrupt  as  the  valley  of  Jehosha- 
phat,  as  the  Credit  Mobilier  and  Star  Route  scandals 
attest,  and  the  citizens  of  Boston  and  Chicago  suffered 
from  destructive  fires.  Our  nation  supported  human 
slavery,  that  sum  of  all  villainies,  and  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion  cost  us  1,000,000  lives  and  $9,000,000,000. 
The  nation  persists  in  its  rebellion  against  God,  and  a 
series  of  calamities  affect  the  people,  from  the  panic  of 
1873,  down  through  the  grasshopper  plague  in  the 
West,  the  yellow  fever  in  the  South,  the  Pittsburgh 
riot  of  1877,  to  the  assassination  of  our  Christian 
President,  Garfield,  who  "was  cut  down  in  his  high 
places."  To-day  the  national  body  carries  such  ulcer- 
ous sores  as  Sabbath  desecration,  intemperance,  speedy 
and  easy  divorce,  and  political  manipulations.  And 
the  "iron  rod"  falls  upon  us  in  the  yellow  fever  at 
Jacksonville,  and  the  railroad  disaster  at  Mud  Run — 
"the  festival  of  death."  "Think  ye  that  those  eighteen 
men  upon  whom  the  tower  of  Siloam  fell  and  slew 
them,  were  sinners  above  all  who  dwelt  in  Jerusalem? 
I  tell  you,  nay.  But  except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all 
likewise  perish."  Do  you  think  that  the  sufferers  at 
Jacksonville  and  Mud  Run  were  sinners  above  all  the 
citizens  of  the  United  States?  I  tell  you,  nay.  But 


38  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

except  this  nation  repent  of  its  rebellion  against  God 
and  its  aggravated  sins,  the  whole  people  shall  perish 
in  like  manner.  The  nation  must  acknowledge  and 
obey  the  King  of  kings  or  perish.  God  has  decreed 
it.  "The  nation  and  kingdom  that  will  not  serve  Thee 
shall  perish;  yea,  those  nations  shall  be  utterly  wasted." 

1.  God  made  a  covenant  with  the  nation  of  Israel 
at  Horeb,  fifty  days  after  the  exodus.     Forty  years 
after,    when    that   generation    had    passed    away  and 
another  had  grown  up,  Moses  said:     "The  Lord  our 
God  made  a  covenant  with  us  at  Horeb;    the  Lord 
made  not  this  covenant  with  our  fathers,  but  with  us, 
even  us  who  are  all  of  us  here  alive  this  day. "     "Neither 
with  you  only  do  I  make  this  covenant  and   this  oath, 
but  with  him  that  standeth  here  with  us  this  day  before 
the  Lord  our  God,  and  also  with  him  that  is  not  here 
with  us  this  day/'     And  the  breach  of  this  covenant 
in  after  generations  was  the    procuring  cause  of  de- 
structive  judgments   upon   this   nation.     Hence   their 
prophets  referred  to  their  forefathers,  not  by  the  historic 
they  of  the  past,  but  the   we  of  continuous   present 
being.     Thus,  in  the  66th  Psalm,  the  passage  of  the 
Red  Sea  is  connected  with  the  generation  in  the  time 
of  David.     "There  did  we  rejoice  in  him."     Jeremiah 
identifies  his  contemporaries  with  Israel  in  the  wilder- 
ness.     "Thus  saith  the  Lord:     I  remember  thee,  the 
kindness  of  thy  youth,  the  love  of  thine  espousals, 
when  thou  wentest  after  me  in  the  wilderness." 

2.  When  the  Israelitish  nation  was  engaged  in  the 
conquest  of  Canaan,  their  elders  made  a   covenant  of 
peace  with  the   Gibeonites,  who  dwelt   in    the   land. 


THE  MORAL  RESPONSIBILITY.  39 

The  Gibeonites  used  craft  to  secure  the  treaty,  the 
elders  of  Israel  were  deceived,  and  the  people  were 
incensed  against  them  for  being  so  hasty  and  unwise. 
But  the  covenant  remained  binding.  Some  four  hun- 
dred years  after,  Saul,  the  King  of  Israel,  in  his  zeal 
for  his  people,  slew  the  Gibeonites,  that  he  might  take 
their  lands  and  enrich  his  followers — "the  spoils  of 
office."  The  matter  received  scarcely  a  passing  notice. 
Perhaps  few  in  the  nation  knew  of  it;  at  least  no  one 
seemed  to  care.  But  God  saw  it.  And  He  keeps  a 
book,  and  His  accounts  always  balance.  And  about 
seventy-five  years  later,  near  the  close  of  King  David's 
reign,  a  three-years'  famine  came  on  Israel,  carrying 
suffering  and  death  in  its  train.  David  inquired  the 
cause,  and  God  answered:  "It  is  for  the  bloody  house 
of  Saul,  because  he  slew  the  Gibeonites."  Here  you 
have  a  nation  making  a  treaty,  four  hundred  years 
after  it  is  broken  by  the  King,  and  seventy-five  years 
subsequent  to  its  violation  the  punishment  came,  and 
it  fell  upon  the  subjects  who  were  personally  innocent, 
and,  perhaps,  largely  ignorant  of  the  violation  of  the 
covenant.  The  record  is  burdened  with  warning  to 
our  nation  for  her  flagrant,  shameless,  outrageous 
breach  of  faith  with  the  Indians  and  Chinese.  After 
narrating  the  facts  respecting  the  treaty  Israel  made 
with  the  Gibeonites,  the  breach  of  it  by  King  Saul 
four  hundred  years  later,  and  the  punishment  in  the 
three-years'  famine  near  the  close  of  King  David's 
reign,  Dr.  Taylor  speaks  as  follows:  "But  let  no  one 
think  it  strange  that  the  penalty  should  come  thus,  in 
famine,  upon  an  entire  nation,  after  a  new  generation 


40  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

had  sprung  up,  for  a  nation's  history  is  a  unit;  and  as 
there  can  be*  no  such  thing  as  retribution  of  a  nation 
in  the  future  state,  it  follows  that  if  punishment  for 
national  sins  is  to  be  inflicted  at  all,  it  must  fall  in  the 
subsequent  earthly  history  of  the  nation  that  commit- 
ted them.  The  generation  which  was  alive  in  France 
at  the  era  of  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  and  the 
revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes,  was  a  different  one 
from  that  which  lived  at  the  time  of  the  first  revolu- 
tion; yet  in  the  events  of  the  latter,  with  its  Reign  of 
Terror  and  rivers  of  blood,  we  have  the  undoubted 
consequences  of  the  former.  Many  generations  have 
come  and  gone  in  Spain  since  the  days  of  Philip  and 
the  great  Armada,  yet  we  cannot  doubt  that  the  mis- 
erable condition  in  that  land  for  more  than  a  century — 
a  condition  out  of  which  its  inhabitants  find  it  hard 
even  now  to  emerge — was  due  to  the  sins  of  those  who 
knew  not  the  day  of  their  visitation,  and  suppressed 
the  Protestantism  which,  but  for  the  Inquisition,  would 
have  arisen  among  them  and  enabled  them  to  lead  the 
van  of  European  progress.  The  English  occupants  of 
India  in  1857  were  not  the  same  as  those  who,  under 
Clive,  Hastings  and  others,  so  unrighteously  obtained 
possession  of  large  portions  of  that  empire — nay,  they 
were  in  many  instances  men  of  another  order  and  a 
nobler  nature;  yet  upon  these — ay,  upon  the  heads  of 
sainted  missionaries  who  repudiated  and  condemned 
the  cruelty  and  craft  of  the  first  invaders — the  terrible 
Nemesis  of  the  mutiny  did  fall.  Hence  there  is  nothing 
out  of  keeping  with  God's  usual  procedure  in  the  fact 
that  forty  years  after  a  national  sin  had  been  com- 


THE  MORAL  RESPONSIBILITY.  -          41 

mitted  by  Israel  under  Saul,  the  punishment  came  and 
fell  upon  a  generation  different  from  that  which  had 
been  guilty  of  the  wrong.  Though  the  generation 
was  different,  the  nation  was  the  same.  God  is  in- 
deed 'a  jealous  God,  visiting  the  iniquities  of  the 
fathers  upon  the  children  unto  the  third  and  fourth  gen- 
eration.' " 

3.  David,  the  King,  numbered  the  people,  contrary 
to  the  divine  command,  against  the  earnest  protest  of 
Joab.      The  sin  was  not  in  counting   them,  for  we  see 
in  the  book  of  Numbers  that  God   counted   them  ex- 
actly, but  in  the  pride  which   prompted    it  and  which 
led  him  to  include  in  the  tale  the  uncircumcised  cities 
of  the  Hivites  and  the  stronghold  of  Tyre,  for  whom 
no  ransom   money  was   paid.      For  the    King's  sin   a 
three-days'  pestilence  was   sent    upon    Israel,  slaying 
70,000  of  the  people.     It  does  not  appear  that  David 
or  any  of  his  household  were  personal  sufferers.     When 
David  saw  the  destroying  angel  standing  over  Jerusa- 
lem with  a  drawn  sword  in  his  hand,  he  said:     "Upon 
me  and  upon  my  house  be  thy  hand.     But  what  have 
these  sheep  done?"     The  head  of  the  nation  sinned; 
the  members  of  the  national  body  suffered.      The  same 
is  true  of  other  nations 

4.  God  commanded  Saul,  the  king  of  Israel:    "Go 
and  smite   Amalek,  and   utterly  destroy  all  that  they 
have,    and   spare   them    not,  but  slay  both    man    and 
woman,  infant  and  suckling,  ox  and  sheep,  camel  and 
ass."      Why  are  they  to  be  exterminated?     We  are 
carried  back  four  hundred  years  to  find  the  cause.      It 
is  "because  they  met  Israel  in  the  wilderness,  as  they 


42  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

journeyed  from  Egypt  to  Canaan,  and  smote  the 
hindermost  of  them,  all  that  were  feeble,  the  faint  and 
weary."  There  was  not  an  individual  living  that  had 
taken  part  in  that  transaction,  nqr  had  been  for  many 
generations.  What  had  the  women  done?  What  sin 
had  the  infants  and  sucklings  committed  against 
Israel?  What  the  flocks  and  herds?  The  whole  order 
recognized  the  unity  and  continuity  of  the  nation  and 
its  moral  personality,  and  teaches  that  national  life 
must  be  free  from  rapacity  and  spoil. 

5.  Babylon  is  given  into  the  hands  of  the  Medes  and 
Persians.     Why?     God   used  the   Chaldean  nation  as 
His  "rod''  to   chastise   His  people.       Nebuchadnezzar 
carried  them  captive  to  Babylon.      But   when   he    car- 
ried    them     there     'according   to    the    divine    will,    he 
oppressed   them  contrary  to   the   divine   will.    "I  was 
a  little  displeased,  and  they  helped  forward  the  afflic- 
tion."    For  going  beyond  the  divine  will,  Babylon  is 
taken   by  the   Medes    and    Persians.      But  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, the  agent  in  this  sin,  had  long  passed  away. 

6.  Tyre   is   pillaged  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  after- 
ward destroyed  by  Alexander  the   Great.      What  the 
cause?     It  is  because   she   broke   the  treaty  of  peace 
made  between   Hiram,   king  of  Tyre,   and  Solomon, 
king  of  Israel.     k'Is  it  for  three  transgressions  of  Tyre 
or  for  four?      I    will   not   turn   away  the    punishment 
thereof,    because    she    remembered    not    the    friendly 
covenant. " 

7.  Jerusalem  is  destroyed  by  Titus  and  the  Jewish 
nation  rooted  out.      Why?     The  Savior  answers  in  His 
parable  of  the  "wicked  husbandmen."     The  nation  of 


THE  MORAL  RESPONSIBILITY.  43 

Israel  is  the  vine.  The  rulers  who  sat  in  Moses'  seat 
the  husbandmen,  Palestine  the  vineyard,  Jordan  and  the 
two  lakes  on  the  east,  the  great  desert  and  the  Idumean 
mountains  on  the  south,  the  Mediterranean  on  the  west, 
and  anti-Libanus  on  the  north,  the  hedge  about  it.  The 
Jewish  ceremony  the  wall.  The  earlier  and  later 
prophets  were  the  sent  servants  of  God.  These  they 
shamefully  entreated.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
Proprietor's  Son,  Him  they  slew.  Therefore  "the  Lord 
of  the  vineyard"  miserably  destroyed  those  wicked  hus- 
bandmen. Archbishop  Trench,  in  his  "Notes  on  the 
Parables,"  says:  "It  is  very  instructive  to  note  the  way 
in  which  the  successive  generations,  which  during  so 
many  centuries  has  been  filling  up  the  measure  of  the 
iniquity  of  Israel,  are  contemplated  throughout  but  as 
one  body  of  husbandmen;  for  indeed  God's  word  is 
everywhere  opposed  to  that  shallow  nominalism  which 
would  make  'nation'  no  more  than  a  convenient  form 
of  language  to  express  a  certain  aggregation  of  indi- 
viduals. God  will  deal  with  nations  as  living  organisms, 
and  as  having  a  moral  unity  of  their  own,  and  this  con- 
tinuing unbroken  from  age  to  age.  Were  it  otherwise, 
all  confession  of  our  fathers'  sins  would  be  a  mockery, 
and  such  words  as  our  Lord's  at  Matthew,  xxiii:  32-35, 
without  any  meaning  at  all.  Nor  is  there  any  injustice 
in  this  law  of  God's  government,  with  which  he  en- 
counters our  selfish,  self-isolating  tendencies;  for  while 
there  is  thus  a  life  of  the  whole,  there  is  also  a  life  of 
every  part,  and  thus  it  is  always  possible  for  each  indi- 
vidual, even  of  that  generation  which,  having  filled  up 
the  last  drop  of  the  measure,  is  being  chastised  for  all 


44  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

its  own  and  its  fathers'  iniquities,  by  personal  faith 
and  repentance  to  withdraw  himself  from  the  general 
doom.  It  will  not,  indeed,  always  be  possible  for  him 
to  escape  his  share  in  the  outward  calamity  (though 
often  there  will  be  a  Pella  when  Jerusalem  is  destroyed, 
an  ark  when  a  world  perishes),  but  always  from  that 
which  is  the  woe  of  the  woe,  from  the  wrath  of  God, 
of  which  the  outward  calamity  is  but  the  form  and  ex- 
pression." (Jer.  xxxix:  n.) 

Do  you  ask,  Why  has  the  pathway  of  history  been 
strewn  with  the  wrecks  of  nations?  The  answer  is: 
They  rebelled  against  God  and  He  smote  them.  "The 
nation  and  kingdom  that  will  not  serve  thee  shall  per- 
ish; yea,  those  nations  shall  be  utterly  wasted."  "The 
burden  of  Egypt,"  "the  burden  of  Babylon,"  "the 
burden  of  Tyre,'r  may  be  written  against  all  these 
nations.  Phenomena  change,  principles  are  eternal. 
"Many  a  Sarmatia  has  fallen  unwept,  but  none  without 
a  crime." 

"It  is  something  monstrous,"  says  Dr.  Arnold,  "that 
the  ultimate  powers  in  human  life  should  be  destitute 
of  the  sense  of  right  and  wrong."  "The  moral  char- 
acter of  government  seems  to  follow  necessarily  from 
its  sovereign  power.  This  is  the  simple  ground  of 
what  I  shall  venture  to  call  the  moral  theory  of  its  ob- 
jects; for  as  in  each  individual  man  there  is  a  higher 
object  than  the  preservation  of  his  body  and  goods,  so 
if  he  be  subject  in  the  last  resort  to  a  power  incapable 
of  appreciating  this  higher  object,  his  social  and  po- 
litical relations,  instead  of  being  the  perfection  of  his 
being,  must  be  its  corruption.  The  voice  of  law  can 


THE  MORAL  RESPONSIBILITY.  45 

only  agree  accidentally  with  that  of  his  conscience; 
and  yet  on  this  voice  of  law  his  life  and  death  are  to 
depend,  for  its  sovereignty  over  him  must  be,  by  the 
nature  of  the  case,  absolute."  The  moral  character 
and  accountability  of  nations  is  the  burden  of  history. 
"The  history  of  the  world  cannot  be  understood  apart 
from  the  government  of  the  world." 

Now,  let  us  apply  these  facts.  There  is  the  highest 
authority  for  comparing  a  nation  to  a  tree.  "As  the 
days  of  a  tree  are  the  days  of  my  people."  The 
fathers  brought  the  tree  of  civil  and  religious  liberty 
and  planted  it  upon  American  soil,  dedicated  to  God 
and  human  rights.  But  our  enemies  brought  two 
other  trees,  the  upas  of  slavery  and  the  upas  of  secu- 
larism, and  planted  them  on  either  side.  The  first 
upas  grew  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years.  It  threat- 
ened our  life. 

In  1837,  Wendell  Phillips  said,  in  Faneuil  Hall, 
"This  land  is  not  large  enough  to  contain  slavery  and 
freedom  together."  In  1858,  Abraham  Lincoln  de- 
clared, "This  land  can  not  exist,  half  slave  and  half 
free.''  In  1861,  God  came  in  judgment  and  cut  it 
down.  The  bloody  fields  of  Gettysburg,  Vicksburg, 
Shiloh  and  the  Wilderness,  and  the  horrors  of  Libby 
Prison  and  Andersonville,  were  the  answer.  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  right  in  interpreting  the  war  when  he  said 
in  his  second  inaugural:  "If  it  please  Almighty  God 
that  the  wealth  that  has  been  piled  up  by  two  hundred 
and  fifty  years  of  unrequited  toil  shall  all  be  taken 
away,  and  for  every  drop  of  blood  drawn  by  the  lash, 
a  corresponding  one  shall  be  drawn  by  the  sword,  still 


46  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 


we  must  say,  the  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and 
righteous  altogether."  You  know  the  verdict  of  his- 
tory: 

"Right  forever  on  the  scaffold, 

Wrong  forever  on  the  throne ; 
But  that  scaffold  sways  the  future, 

And  within  the  dim  unknown 
Standeth  God,  behind  the  shadow, 
Keeping  watch  above  His  own." 

The  second  upas  still  grows.  The  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  does  not  contain  the  name  of  God. 
In  adopting  it  we  virtually  said:  "We  propose  to  run 
this  nation  in  the  name  of  'We,  the  people,'  independ- 
ent of  the  King  of  kings." 

When  Adrian  VI.  was  chosen  Pope,  the  Hollanders 
inscribed  on  their  banners,  suspended  from  their  houses, 
these  words:  "Utrecht  planted,  Louvain  watered,  the 
Emperor  gave  the  increase,  and  God  had  nothing  to 
do  with  it."  On  the  Constitution  of  this  republic 
these  words  may  be  properly  inscribed:  "The  Pilgrim 
Fathers  founded  this  nation,  General  Washington  led 
our  armies  to  victory,  'we  the  people'  framed  the  Con- 
stitution, and  Jesus  Christ  had  nothing  to  do  with  it." 

The  upas  of  secularism  still  grows.  It  is  alarming 
in  its  proportions.  Let  me  point  out  some  of  its 
branches:  , 

1st.  The  churckless  '  masses.  We  hear  a  great 
deal  about  immigration.  They  are  coming  here 
at  the  rate  of  1,000,000  a  year.  There  are  17,000,000 
here  of  foreign  birth  or  foreign  parentage;  by  the  end 
of  this  century  there  will  be  43,000,000.  In  London,' 
England,  64  per  cent,  of  the  population  were  born 


THE  MORAL  RESPONSIBILITY.  -         47 


within  the  corporate  limits,  94  per  cent,  in  England 
and  Wales,  and  98  per  cent,  in  Great:  Britain  and  Ire- 
land. But  every  city  in  the  United  States  has  from 
50  to  87  per  cent,  foreigners.  This  fact,  however,  is 
not  alarming,  were  it  not  for  the  additional  one,  that 
more  that  one-half  the  people  in  the  United  States 
never  darken  a  church  door.  Ohio  is  the  only  State 
in  the  Union  that  has  a  seating  capacity  in  its  churches 
for  all  the  people  over  ten  years  of  age.  In  New 
York,  in  six  Assembly  districts,  having  360,000  peo- 
ple, there  are  31  churches  and  3,018  saloons.  In  the 
First  Assembly  district,  having  40,000  people,  there 
are  7  churches  and  1,078  saloons — I  church  to  153 
saloons,  and  the  saloon  is  open  100  hours  per  week, 
while  the  church  is  open  7  or  8  hours.  In  one  section, 
having  60,000  people,  there  is  only  one  church.  Since 
1880  the  population  of  New  York  has  increased 
300,000,  and  only  4  churches  have  been  added.  In  a 
section  in  Chicago,  having  60,000  people,  there  is  no 
church  at  all.  Out  of  7,000,000  young  men  in  the 
United  States,  5;OOO,ooo  never  go  to  church.  It  is 
true  that  75  per  cent,  of  the  young  men  never  darken 
a  church  door,  95  per  cent,  are  not  connected  with  the 
church  as  members,  and  97  per  cent,  carry  no  cross 
and  do  no  work  for  Christ.  We  know  that  Christianity 
is  the  leaven,  but  it  is  not  brought  in  contact  with  the 
people.  We  have  the  leaven  in  one  pan,  and  the 
dough  in  another.  Let  this  state  of  things  continue 
and  our  doom  is  sealed. 

2d.     Illiteracy.       Out    of     65,000,000    of     people, 
5,250,000  cannot  read;  6,250,000  cannot  write.      Out 


48  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

| 

of  18,000,000  of  children  of  a  school  age,  10,000,000 
are  enrolled,  6,000,000  attend.  In  New  York,  out  of 
385,000  children  of  a  school  age,  140,000  attend.  In 
the  South,  two-thirds  of  the  legal  voters  cannot  read 
their  own  ballots.  Take  the  voting  society,  in  round 
numbers,  10,000,000,  [it  is  near  12,000,000],  let  my 
fingers  represent  it.  One-fifth  can  not  read  their  bal- 
lots— the  little  finger  must  come  down.  Another  fifth 
can  not  read  enough  to  vote  intelligently — the  second 
finger  must  come  down.  The  intelligent  voters  are 
about  equally  divided  between  the  two  great  political 
parties,  and  may  be  represented  by  the  two  taller 
fingers.  Then  the  criminal  class  vote  is  dominated  by 
the  saloon.  The  thumb  must  come  down,  and  it 
closes  over  the  other  two  fingers.  Now,  with  the 
intelligent  vote  about  equally  divided,  and  bidding  for 
the  illiterate,  the  semi-illiterate  and  the  criminal  class 
vote,  it  does  not  require  a  man  to  be  a  prophet,  nor 
the  son  of  a  prophet,  nor  an  alarmist,  to  say  there  is 
danger  ahead.  These  facts  form  the  dark  and  lowering 
cloud  in  our  political  sky.  Let  a  master  hand  touch 
it,  and  the  thunders  will  roll,  the  lightnings  will  flash, 
and  a  deluge  of  wrath  will  descend  upon  us. 

3d.  The  liquor  traffic.  It  costs  our  nation 
$1,500,000,000  annually,  maintains  a  standing  army 
of  600,000  drunkards,  and  sends  80,000  to  a  drunk- 
ard's grave  every  year.  And  then,  the  heart-broken 
wives  and  widows,  orphan  children,  ruined  homes — 
a  scene  of  suffering  and  woe  which  tongue  or  pen  can 
not  describe.  It  stalks  through  our  land  with  the 
crushing  steps  of  a  giant,  leaving  a  desolation  in  its 


THE  MORAL  RESPONSIBILITY.  -          49 

path.  We  must  destroy  the  liquor  traffic,  or  it-will 
destroy  us. 

4th.  Sabbath  desecration.  In  Prussia,  57  per  cent, 
of  those  working  in  factories  and  77  per  cent,  of  those 
engaged  in  mercantile  and  transporting  service  have 
no  Sabbath.  In  England  and  America  2,500,000  are 
deprived  of  their  Sabbath  rest  by  the  railroad  and 
postal  service.  The  bondage  of  Israel  in  Egypt  was 
not  a  circumstance  to  this.  On  the  New  York  Central 
Railroad,  450  locomotive  engineers  petitioned  for 
Sabbath  rest,  on  the  ground  of  conscience.  They 
were  refused.  That  is  the  car  of  Juggernaut,  crushing 
the  liberties  of  the  American  people.  Two  millions  in 
the  United  States  are  compelled  to  work  every  Sab- 
bath unnecessarily.  For  this  oppression  God  will 
visit  us. 

5th.  T/ie  conflict  between  labor  and  capital.  Capital 
is  concentrated  in  the  hands  of  a  few.  Labor  is  organ- 
ized. Fifty  years  ago,  a  boy  started  as  deck  hand  on 
a  steamboat.  In  half  a  century  he  had  $73,000,000. 
Another  starts  out  with  no  property  but  a  mouse 
trap.  In  twenty-seven  years  he  has  capital  stock 
equal  to  $100,000,000.  How  came  they  by  these 
mammoth  fortunes?  There  are  only  three  ways  of 
getting  money:  I.  Gift.  They  did  not  get  it  in  this 
way.  2.  Industry  and  sagacity.  Society  is  a  joint- 
stock  concern.  No  one  has  a  right  to  take  out  more 
than  he  puts  in.  Perhaps  one  of  these  men,  by  his 
industry  and  sagacity,  is  worth  to  society  $1,000,000 
a  year.  In  twenty-seven  years  he  would  then  have 
a  right  to  draw  out  $27,000,000.  But  he  draws 


50  RE  FORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

$100,000,000.  How  came  he  by  the  extra  $73,000,000? 
There  is  only  one  other  way  of  getting  money,  and 
that  is  by  stealing.  They  obtained  it  by  stock  gam- 
bling, and  that  means  stealing  on  a  large  scale.  As  a 
consequence,  the  poor  suffer.  Hence  the  discontent 
that  led  to  labor  organizations.  There  are  trades 
unions  in  every  State  in  the  Union,  and  they  repre- 
sent all  classes.  Organized  labor  and  concentrated 
capital  are  the  two  great  facts  before  us.  These  are 
two  columns.  They  are  drawn  up  in  battle  array. 
We  think  of  the  Pittsburgh  riot  of  1877,  when  128 
locomotives  were  given  to  the  torch;  of  the  Cincinnati 
riot,  when  153  men  were  shot  dowh  and  the  Court 
House  burned.  These  are  but  the  firing  of  the  outer 
pickets.  If  the  firing  of  the  outer  pickets  occasion 
such  turmoil,  what  will  be  the  result  when  the  two 
columns  shall  have  collided?  Why,  our  land  will  be 
converted  into  an  Aceldame — a  field  of  blood. 

6th.  The  Roman  Catholic  hierarchy.  This  has  a 
Jesuitical  organization  as  perfect  as  my  hand,  the  wrist 
of  which  is  yonder  on  the  Tiber  and  the  fingers  in  the 
nations,  manipulating  their  civil  and  religious  institu- 
tions. This  is  the  hoary-headed  foe  of  civil  and  re- 
ligious liberty. 

Had  she  the  power  she  would  slit  the  veins  of  our 
nation  and  let  flow  her  best  blood.  Ask  Italy!  Not 
to  mention  Dante's  sad  and  bitter  protest,  a  recent 
writer  answers:  "The  Papacy  has  been  the  elemental, 
implacable  foe  of  Italian  unity.  It  never  would  permit  a 
powerful  native  kingdom  to  unite  Italy."  Macchia- 
velli,  who  inscribed  his  "History  of  Florence"  to 


THE  MORAL  RESPONSIBILITY.  .          51 

Clement  VII. ,  says:  "All  the  wars  that  were  brought 
upon  Italy  by  the  barbarians" — that  is  foreigners — 
"were  caused  mainly  by  the  Popes,  and  all  the  bar- 
barians who  overrun  Italy  were  invited  in  by  them. 
This  has  kept  Italy  in  a  state  of  disunion  and  weakness. " 
Ask  France!  And  M.  Guizot  answers  that  "Since  the 
long  drawn  battle  of  Boniface  and  Philip  the  Fair,  it 
has  been  a  life  and  death  struggle  with  the  so-called 
clerical  party,  which  is  always  allied  with  secession." 
Ask  England!  And  Gladstone  answers,  "From  the 
Tudor  age  it  has  been  a  battle  with  'the  great  red 
dragon.'  '  Ask  the  United  States,  and  she  points  to 
Encyclical  of  December  6,  1864,  in  which  Pius  IX. 
claimed  the  exemption  of  the  clergy  from  the  authority 
of  secular  tribunals  and  asserts  a  divine  sanction  in  "re- 
fusing to  permit  their  cases  to  be  subject  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  latter."  He  also  asserts  that  "rulers  are 
subject  to  the  church,"  and  even  that  "in  the  State, 
internal  municipal  laws  are  involved  in  the  same  sub- 
jection." What  need  we  any  further  witness!  She  has 
been  convicted  of  treason  against  civil  government. 
Pope  Hildebrand  kept  Henry  IV.  standing  outside  the 
gate  of  Canossa  four  days  barefoot  in  the  snow.  In 
1872,  Bismarck  said:  "We  are  not  going  to  Canossa, 
physically  or  spiritually; "  but  he  did  go.  The  hierarchy 
is  making  an  assault  upon  our  public  school  system  in 
Pittsburgh  and  Boston.  In  New  York,  they  have  re- 
ceived millions  of  dollars  from  the  public  treasury- 
Are  we  going  to  Canossa?  They  are  7,000,000  strong. 
They  hold  the  balance  of  power  in  politics.  We  are 
nearer  Canossa  than  we  think. 


52  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

7th.  Political  corruption.  Read  the  North  American 
Review  for  December,  1887.  An  overseer  tells  what 
he  saw  in  the  election  of  the  previous  month  in  New 
York  City.  At  a  precinct,  before  6  A.  M.,  he  saw  a  row 
of  twenty  men  with  right  hand  elevated  and  a  ballot 
between  thumb  and  forefinger,  while  a  man  on  the  curb 
watched.  When  the  polls  were  opened  they  deposited 
the  ballot,  and  filed  in  the  side  door  of  a  saloon.  In 
there  was  a  well  known  "heeler"  giving  out  five  dollars 
apiece  to  these  voters.  At  another  precinct,  votes  were 
sold  at  from  seven  to  ten  dollar^  each.  At  one  place  they 
were  sold  wholesale.  He  found  two  boarding-houses 
that  had  been  stocked  for  election  day,  and  the  vote 
was  sold  in  a  lump.  He  knew  that  at  least  a  quarter 
of  a  million  dollars  was  spent  on  that  day  in  that  city 
in  buying  votes.  Where  does  the  money  come  from? 
Read  the  Baptist  Review  for  March,  1888.  Before  a 
great  political  party  in  New  York  State  would  consider 
a  man  eligible  for  nomination  for  Comptroller,  he  must 
agree  to  be  assessed  $25,000,  and  the  salary  for  the  office 
was  only  $10,000.  Before  they  would  consider  a  man 
for  nomination  for  the  Judgeship,  he  must  agree  to  be 
assessed  $20,000,  and  the  salary  was  only  $17,500. 
Before  they  would  consider  a  man  for  nomination  for 
the  Assembly,  he  must  agree  to  be  assessed  $10,000, 
and  the  salary  is  only  $5,000.  How  could  these  men 
stand  such  a  draft?  What  becomes  of  this  money? 
They  are  brought  in  contact  with  the  public  treasury. 
Our  political  elections  are  the  sheerest  farce,  by  virtue  of 
the  purchasing  of  votes.  No  wonder  Christian  citizens 
are  crying  out  in  alarm,  "We  must  have  a  reformation." 


THE  MORAL  RESPONSIBILITY.  .         53 

Xenophon  tells  us  in  his  anabasis  that  during  the 
famous  Retreat  of  the  Ten  Thousand,  the  Greeks  be- 
sieged a  certain  city.  When  they  could  not  take  it,  a 
woman  within  proposed  to  betray  the  city  by  opening 
the  gate.  Her  reward  was  to  be  what  each  soldier  wore 
on  his  left  arm  (referring  to  their  golden  bracelets).  She 
opened  the  gate  and  took  her  stand  near  by  to  receive 
the  price  of  her  treachery.  As  the  soldiers  filed  in  they 
threw  their  shields  at  her  feet  until  she  was  buried 
beneath  them.  There  are  many  within  our  national 
citadel  who  are  ready  to  betray  us  to  the  enemy.  Every 
voter  who  sells  his  vote,  every  politician  who  buys  votes, 
and  every  manipulator  of  the  ballot-box,  acts  the  part 
of  a  traitor  in  opening  our  gates  to  the  foe.  The  Na- 
tional Reform  Association  is  sounding  an  alarm.  This 
society  is  mustering  an  army  of  Christian  citizens  who 
will  sacrifice  their  lives,  their  fortunes  and  their  sacred 
honor  in  defense  of  our  liberties. 

Our  civil  service  is  becoming  a  source  of  danger. 
To  change  100,000  government  appointees  every  time 
one  administration  goes  out  and  another  comes  in  is  a 
standing  menace  to  the  Republic.  What  will  it  be 
when  there  are  200,000  places  to  be  filled? 

Joseph  Cook  says:  "The  parliamentary  expenses  of 
the  Brighton  railway  in  England  were  fifteen  thousand 
dollars  a  mile.  George  III.  sometimes  expended  for 
purposes  of  political  corruption  the  money  voted  to 
him  as  King,  arid  called  his  gifts  golden  pills.  We  all 
remember  very  well  that  Lord  Chatham's  measures  of 
reform  were  often  spoiled  by  Lord  Bute,  and  that  the 
latter  frequently  succeeded  by  striking  the  great  states- 


54  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

man's  followers  with  a  golden  club.  It  is  said  that 
Lord  Bute,  in  a  single  day,  issued  to  the  order  of  his 
agents  twenty-five  thousand  pounds.  On  another  oc- 
casion a  government  loan  was  raised  among  his  ad- 
herents by  private  subscription  on  such  terms  as  to 
distribute  among  them  three  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand pounds  of  public  money.  In  the  days  of  the 
Pensioned  Parliament  peerages  were  bought  and  sold, 
and  now  and  then  the  amounts  paid  for  them  entered  in 
the  books  of  the  exchequer.  It  was  very  common  to  buy 
a  member  of  the  Lower  House,  and  even  a  lord  was 
sometimes  sold  over  his  chair  as  you  sell  goods  over 
the  counter  of  a  stall.  But  in  1832,  a  reform  began. 
In  1853,  Sir  Stafford  Northcote  drew  up  a  plan  by 
which  it  became  an  accomplished  fact."  "What  is  the 
particular  regulation  of  office-holding  in  Great  Britain? 
The  Premier  appoints,  of  course,  his  colleagues  in  his 
cabinet,  with  the  advice  of  the  Queen.  Then  the  cab- 
inet, together,  choose  subsidiary  officers  just  under 
them.  Only  about  thirty  men  in  the  upper  ranges  of 
the  civil  service  are  changed  when  the  party  or  the 
ministry  changes.  With  very  few,  and  now  decreasing 
exceptions,  the  lower  ranges  are  filled  by  competitive 
examination.  A  man  once  in  position  expects  to  keep 
his  place  dqring  good  behavior,  and  to  be  promoted 
for  merit.  The  consequence  is  that  the  control  of  pol- 
itics has  been  taken  out  of  the  hands  of  party  in  Great 
Britain,  so  far  as  office-holding  is  concerned,  and  put 
into  the  hands  of  the  people,  where  it  belongs."  The 
spoils  system  was  introduced  here  by  Andrew  Jackson. 
It  has  gone  to  seed.  Unless  the  government  appointees 


THE  MORAL  RESPONSIBILITY.  55 

voluntarily  contribute  to  election  purposes  a  mark  is 
put  upon  them  which  secures  their  prompt  removal. 
The  Credit  Mobilier  and  Star  Route  scandals  are  some 
of  its  fruits. 

Here  are  some  of  the  branches  of  this  deadly  upas 
of  secularism.  Now,  let  Christian  citizens"  unite  and 
cut  it  down,  before  God*  comes  in  His  judgments  to 
remove  it.  Dr.  Leonard  tells  of  a  visit  to  California, 
where  he  saw  the  stump  of  what  had  been  the  largest 
tree  in  the  State.  It  served  as  the  first  floor  of  a 
three-story  building;  the  house  was  built  over  it.  He 
asked  the  proprietor  how  he  succeeded  in  getting  it 
down.  k'Well,"  he  said,  "we  had  an  awful  time  of  it. 
First,  we  took  long-handled  axes  and  girdled  the  tree, 
and  then  we  took  saws  and  sawed  it  round  and  round. 
Then  we  took  augers  and  bored  it  through  and 
through.  But  still  it  stood,  until  one  day  a  great 
cyclone  swept  through  the  mountains  and  took  it  in  its 
awful  embrace  and  swayed  it  to  and  fro  and  brought  it 
down  with  a  crash  that  caused  the  mountain  to  trem- 
ble." Now,  what  is  proposed  is,  that  Christian  citi- 
zens unite  and  girdle  this  upas  with  the  axes  of  the 
divine  law,  then  saw  it  round  and  round  with  the  saws 
of  the  divine  law,  then  bore  it  through  and  through 
with  the  augers  of  the  divine  law,  and  by  and  by  God 
will  raise  such  a  cyclone  of  righteous  indignation  as 
will  take  it  in  its  embrace,  and  swaying  it  to  and  fro, 
bring  it  down  with  a  crash  that  may  cause  our  land  to 
tremble  from  shore  to  shore.  Then  will  the  tree  of 
civil  and  religious  liberties  grow  and  fill  the  land,  and 
all  the  people  will  rejoice  beneath  its  shadow.  Then 


56  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

will  we  know  from  a  happy  experience  the  true  mean- 
ing of  the  words  of  the  Psalmist,  "Blessed  is  the  nation 
whose  God  is  the  Lord." 

Julian,  the  Roman  Emperor,  undertook  to  destroy 
Christianity  and  reinstate  Paganism,  While  engaged 
in  his  great  campaign  some  one  asked  a  Christian  in 
Rome,  ''What  is  the  Nazare»e  doing  now?"  He  re- 
plied, with  triumphant  faith,  "Making  a  coffin  for 
Julian."  Almost  immediately  the  news  came  that 
Julian  had  expired  in  the  heart  of  Asia,  exclaiming, 
"Thou  hast  conquered,  O,  Galilean!"  Satan  is  mus- 
tering the  liquor  traffic,  Sabbath-breaking  corpora- 
tions, secret  oath-bound  fraternities,  etc.,  to  take  pos- 
session of  this  land.  The  Great  Conqueror  is  coming 
forth  to  meet  him.  "And  there  was  war  in  heaven; 
Michael  and  his  angels  fought  against  the  dragon;  and 
the  dragon  fought  and  his  angels,  and  prevailed  not." 
The  right  must  triumph. 

We  need  the  courage  and  fidelity  of  the  old  Roman 
general,  Marcus  Attilus  Regulus,  who  was  taken  pris- 
oner by  the  Carthagenians.  His  captors  sent  him  to 
Rome  to  negotiate  an  exchange  of  prisoners,  first 
binding  him  by  an  oath  to  return  to  Carthage.  He 
went  to  Rome,  and  spoke  in  the  Senate  against  the 
exchange,  as  being  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  republic. 
When  he  returned  to  Carthage  they  placed  him  in  a 
box  filled  with  sharp  nails  on  all  sides,  so  that  he'must 
stand  or  be  pierced,  and  from  loss  of  sleep  he  died. 
Oh,  for  a  band  of  Christian  soldiers  having  the  courage 
and  fidelity  of  Regulus! 


CHAPTER    IV. 


CIVIL    GOVERNMENT   GOD'S    MORAL   ORDINANCE. 

There  are  only  two  theories  of  civil  government — 
the  infidel  theory,  namely,  that  the  State  is  only  a  wise 
human  institution,  and  the  Christian  theory,  namely, 
that  it  is  an  ordinance  of  God.  The  infidel  theory  is 
usually  based  upon  the  social  compact.  This  idea  was 
conceived  in  the  mind  of  the  atheist  Hobbes,  of  Malms- 
bury.  Denying  the  existence  of  any  fixed  standard  of 
right,  and  consequently  that  there  is  any  such  thing  as 
virtue  or  vice,  this  speculative  philosopher  resolved  all 
laws  into  one — the  will  of  the  legislature.  Here  he 
found  the  "staff  of  authority."  Locke,  in  turn,  found 
here  "the  shield  of  liberty."  With  Grotius  and  Kant, 
of  Germany,  it  is  the  jus  naturale,  or  natural  law. 
But  its  clearest  assertion  was  in  France,  and  its  highest 
development  was  in  the  contract  social  of  Rousseau. 
In  America,  it  appeared  in  the  convention  that  framed 
the  United  States  Constitution,  for  Franklin  says, 
"With  three  or  four  exceptions  the  convention  thought 
prayers  unnecessary. "  The  form  of  the  theory,  as 
maintained  by  Locke,  is  apparent  in  the  political  writ- 
ings of  Adams,  while  in  those  of  Jefferson  the  theory 
of  Rousseau  is  dominant.  In  our  day  it  appears  in 
the  demands  of  Liberalism.  They  demand  the  abro- 
gation of  our  Sabbath  laws,  the  elimination  of  the  oath 


58  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES, 

from  our  courts,  the  expulsion  of  the  Bible  from  our 
public  schools,  and  that  the  government  be  adminis- 
tered on  a  purely  secular  basis.  The  indictment  of 
this  theory  may  be  briefly  written.  It  is  unhistorical. 
It  postulates  a  pre-social  state  as  the  original  condi- 
tion of  man.  But  of  this  pre-social  state  history  gives 
us  no  account.  Man  has  been  in  society  from  the  be- 
ginning, as  all  history  testifies.  It  is  suicidal.  France 
adopted  it  for  a  day  and  an  hour.  The  French  Senate 
voted,  "There  is  no  God."  Over  the  entrance  to  their 
cemeteries  they  wrote,  "Death  is  an  eternal  sleep." 
A  strumpet  graced  their  triumphal  marches.  As  a 
result  the  Reign  of  Terror  burst  upon  them  like  a  clap 
of  thunder  from  a  clear  sky.  The  fairest  monuments 
of  literature  and  art  were  given  to  the  flames.  The 
streets  of  Paris  ran  red  with  blood.  The  river  Seine 
was  gorged  with  the  bodies  of  the  slain.  And  France 
was  glad  to  abandon  that  theory,  and  adopt  the  only 
true  theory,  namely,  that  civil  government  is  an  ordi- 
nance of  God;  that  settled  order  of  things  that  is  man- 
ifestly in  harmony  with  the  divine  will,  that  it  has  its 
necessity  in  our  nature — "man  is  a  political  being," 
and  its  authority  in  God's  word — "the  powers  that  be 
are  ordained  of  God;"  that  it  is  clothed  with  authority 
and  powers  which  transcend  all  human  institutions, 
and  thus  becomes  the  heaven-ordained  and  heaven- 
commissioned  agent  representing  the  divine  authority 
among  men. 

L  Because  the  powers  of  the  State  come  from  God. 
The  State  wields  tremendous  powers.  It  has  the  power 
to  levy  tax,  to  institute  a  tariff,  and  to  regulate  that 


GOD'S  MORAL  ORDINANCE.  59 

mighty  factor  in  our  commercial  affairs — the  currency.  It 
has  power  to  organize  schools;  to  enter  the  home,  take 
the  children,  place  them  in  the  schools  and  educate  them, 
without  asking  leave  of  the  parents.  It  has  the  power 
to  draw  out  all  the  physical,  mental  and  moral  forces 
in  self-defense,  just  as  the  sword  is  drawn  from  its  sheath. 
It  has  the  power  of  life  and  death.  This  does  not  reside 
in  the  individual.  No  man  has  a  right  to  take  his  own 
life,  much  less  to  employ  another  to  do  it  for  him. 
Sixty  millions  have  not  the  right  to  execute  the  criminal. 
That  is  a  mob.  And  yet  the  State  is  every  day  ex- 
ercising a  power  which  does  not  reside  in  the  individual 
or  in  the  mass.  How  comes  the  State  by  this  power? 
The  only  answer  is,  Power  comes  from  the  Almighty 
God.  As  the  Saviour  said  to  Pilate,  "Thou  couldst 
have  no  power  over  me  at  all,  except  it  were  given  to 
thee  from  above."  In  the  82d  Psalm,  rulers  are  called 
"gods"  because  they  represent  God.  In  the  1 3th chapter 
of  Romans  they  are  called  "God's  ministers"  because 
they  are  his  agents.  Civil  government  is  the  arm  of 
Jehovah  administering  the  affairs  of  the  divine  govern- 
ment among  the  nations.  This  links  the  State  with 
the  throne  of  God. 

II.  Because  the  laws  of  the  State  come  from  God. 
Sallust  tells  us  that  a  bill  was  once  proposed  in  the  Sen- 
ate of  Rome  declaring  that  "a  republic  can  not  be 
governed  without  injustice."  Scipio  opposed  this  as 
follows:  "As  among  the  different  sounds  which  pro- 
ceed from  lyres,  flutes  and  the  human  voice  there  must 
be  maintained  a  certain  harmony  which  a  cultivated  ear 
can  not  endure  to  hear  disturbed  or  jarring,  but  which 


60  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

may  be  elicited  in  full  and  absolute  concord  by  the 
modulation  even  of  voices  very  unlike  one  another,  so 
where  justice  is  allowed  to  modulate  the  divine  elements 
of  the  state  there  is  obtained  a  perfect  concord  from  the 
upper,  lower,  and  middle  classes  as  from  various  sounds; 
and  what  musicians  call  harmony  in  singing  is  concord 
in  matters  of  state,  which  is  the  strictest  bond  and  best 
security  of  any  republic,  and  which  by  no  ingenuity 
can  be  retained  where  justice  has  become  extinct." 

Scipio  was  a  clear-sighted  statesman.  He  saw  that 
law  is  founded  on  the  eternal  distinctions  of  right  and 
wrong — distinctions  strong  and  irreversible  as  the 
granite  bases  of  the  world. 

Law  is  universal.  Look  upward.  The  moon  re- 
volves about  our  earth  at  a  distance  of  240,000  miles. 
One  planet  has'  four  moons;  another  has  seven. 
These  are  called  satellite  systems.  Our  earth  revolves 
about  the  sun  at  a  distance  of  92,000,000  of  miles. 
There  are  many  such  planets,  some  larger,  some 
smaller;  some  nearer  the  sun,  others  farther  away. 
Mercury's  year  is  four  and  a  half  months.  Neptune's 
year  is  one  hundred  and  sixty  of  our  years.  These 
are  called  planetary  systems.  Our  sun,  which  is  a 
million  and  a  half  times  larger  than  this  earth,  revolves 
around  some  mightier  sun.  There  are  ten  thousand 
other  suns  similarly  attended.  They  are  called  Sun 
systems.  The  center  of  the  sun  systems — so  remote 
that  it  takes  light,  traveling  at  the  rate  of  192,000 
miles  per  second,  four  and  one-half  years  to  reach  us— 
revolves  around  some  mightier  and  more  remote  cen- 
ter. There  are  millions  of  such  great  orbs.  They 


GOD'S  MORAL  ORDINANCE.  -        61 

are  called  Group  systems.  Beyond  these  are  Cluster 
systems  and  Nebula  systems.  And,  finally,  all  revolve 
about  the  great  central  sun — perhaps  the  great  star  of 
the  Pleiades,  as  Madler  suggests — and  so  far  that  it 
takes  its  light  three  and  a  half  millions  of  years  to 
reach  us,  and  called  the  Universe  system. 

Prof.  Henry  Drummond,  in  his  "Natural  Law  in  the 
Spiritual  World,"  has  shown  that  the  laws  of  the  king- 
dom of  God  are  identical  with  the  laws  of  the  material 
world.  The  kingdoms  rise,  tier  above  tier,  but  one 
law  runs  through  all. 

This  reminds  us  of  another  kind  of  order  in  our 
civil  government.  There  is  the  general  government — 
the  President  and  the  upper  and  lower  houses  of 
Congress.  Subordinate  to  these  are  the  forty-two 
States,  with  their  governors  and  the  upper  and 
lower  houses  of  the  legislature — a  miniature  general 
government.  Subordinate  to  these,  again,  are  the 
municipalities,  with  their  mayors,  city  councils,  and 
boards  of  aldermen.  As  that  order  in  heaven  is  pos- 
sible because  of  the  force  of  gravitation  (which  is  the 
uniform  manifestation  of  God's  power),  so  this  order 
on  earth  is  possible  because  of  the  law  (which  is  the 
expression  of  the  divine  will).  The  astronomer  dis- 
covers the  laws  which  God  has  ordained  and  written 
upon  the  heavens.  The  statesman  discovers  the  laws 
which  God  has  written  upon  the  human  soul.  Two 
thoughts  rilled  the  mind  of  Kant  with  ever-increasing 
admiration  and  delight — "the  starry  heavens  above  us, 
God's  law  within  us."  Dr.  Brownson,  speaking  of  a 
recent  school^of  political  atheism,  says:  "It  has  rejected 


62  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

the  divine  origin  and  ground  of  government,  and 
excluded  God  from  the  state.  They  have  not  only 
separated  the  state  from  the  church  as  an  external 
corporation,  but  from  God  as  its  internal  Law-giver, 
and  by  so  doing  have  deprived  the  state  of  her 
sacredness,  inviolability,  arid  hold  upon  the  conscience." 
A  law  that  has  not  the  stamp  of  the  divine  Law-giver 
can  not  bind  the  conscience.  "Man  binding  man's 
conscience''  is  contrary  to  our  very  nature.  Our 
whole  being  rebels  against  it.  A  law  that  is  not  a 
transcript  of  God's  law  will  not  bind  the  conscience. 
''There  is  one  Law-giver." 

Then,  men  may  talk  as  they  will  about  the  noble 
acts  of  wise  legislatures.  They  may  tire  themselves 
in  eulogizing  the  wise  codes  of  a  Solon,  a  Caesar,  or  a 
Napoleon;  they  may  hold  in  grateful  deference  the 
twelve  tables  *of  the  Decemviri,  and  the  Trebonian 
code  of  keen  and  careful  Justinian,  worthy  of  anchor- 
ing the  states  of  the  sixth  century;  they  may  praise  a 
Romilly  and  a  Mclntosh  for  humanizing  a  barbarous 
code,  studying  the  philosophy  of  crime,  and  devising 
remedial  schemes  for  reaching  the  degraded,  employ- 
ing the  idle,  and  recovering  the  vicious  and  dissolute; 
they  may  revere  the  governmental  monuments  of  a 
Cicero,  a  Blackstone,  or  a  Jameson — who  are  pillars  in 
the  temple  of  jurisprudence,  men  whose  names  will 
never  be  lost  sight  of  in  judicial  history,  and  who  will 
always  exercise  a  molding  influence  on  wise  legislation. 
But  it  still  remains  the  same  immutable  fact  that  man 
can  not  make  a  law.  He  may  be  a  wise  interpreter  of 
the  law  of  God,  but  that  is  the  highest  human  claim. 


GO&S  MORAL  ORDINANCE.  „         63 

He  can  only  discover  the  foot-prints  of  the  great 
Architect  of  the  universe.  As  Blackstone  says,  "Any 
law  that  contravenes  the  law  of  God  is  no  law  at  all. " 
The  public  mind  is  undergoing  a  change.  Men  see 
that  human  opinions  are  not  a  safe  standard.  Jeffer- 
son's dictum  that  "Rulers  receive  their  just  powers  from 
the  consent  of  the  governed"  is  only  half  truth,  and  if 
taken  for  the  whole  truth  becomes  a  dangerous  error. 
Rulers  are  God's  ministers.  They  represent  him. 
Their  authority  comes  from  him.  The  divine  method 
of  communicating  it  is  through  the  choice  of  the  people. 
And  there  lies  the  half  truth.  The  whole  truth  is  : 
"Whom  God  and  this  people  choose."  God  has  indi- 
cated his  choice  by  the  qualifications  required  of  civil 
officers  in  his  word,  and  the  people  indicate  their  choice 
by  their  franchise.  The  same  is  true  of  law.  What  is 
law?  Some  say  it  is  the  recorded  voice  of  the  majority. 
But  majorities  are  often  wrong.  In  the  second  century 
the  majority  favored  the  worship  of  idols,  and  the 
Roman  Government  made  it  a  law  and  enforced  it;  but 
Christians  suffered  martyrdom  rather  than  obey  it.  In 
the  sixteenth  century  the  majority  in  Europe  favored 
allegiance  to  the  Pope;  but  Luther  and  the  Protestants 
would  not  recognize  the  laws  of  the  Roman  Pontiff. 
Before  the  war  the  majority  in  this  country  favored 
slavery;  but  Garrison,  Phillips  and  the  Covenanters 
would  not  obey  the  fugitive  slave  law.  Man  cannot 
make  a  law  that  will  bind  the  conscience.  God  alone 
can  make  law.  Public  opinion  must  be  brought  up  to 
God's  law.  God's  law  must  never  be  lowered  to  suit 
the  caprice  of  depraved  human  nature.  The  State,  as 


64  REFORMATION-  PRINCIPLES. 

the  minister  of  God,  must  enforce  the  divine  law  as  it 
pertains  to  civil  life.  Take  the  Sabbath  for  example. 
What  is  the  basis  of  Sabbath  legislation?  Some  say, 
"Our  physical,  mental  and  moral  constitution  demand 
one  day  in  seven  for  rest.  And  the  police  force,  with 
which  the  State  is  clothed,  justifies  the  enforcement  of 
the  laws  requiring  the  cessation  of  common  labor  on 
the  Sabbath  in  the  interests  of  the  people.  "  Very  well. 
On  that  ground  you  may  emancipate  the  2,000,000 
unwilling  Sabbath  toilers  in  the  United  States  from 
work  on  Sabbath.  It  is  a  question  of  human  rights 
and  the  State  is  the  custodian  of  human  rights.  But 
the  Seventh  Day  Baptists  and  the  Jews  come  forward 
and  say,  "Our  consciences  require  us  to  rest  on  the 
seventh  day  and  work  on  the  first  day  of  the  week." 
What  authority  has  the  majority  to  enact  a  Sabbath 
law  which  they  must  obey?  None  whatever,  except 
on  the  basis  of  the  law  of  God.  The  government  says 
to  them:  "This  nation  believes  that  God's  law  requires 
all  common  labor  to  cease  on  the  first  day  of  the  week. 
We  do  not  require  you  to  observe  the  day  religiously. 
This  is  a  matter  between  yourself  and  your  God.  But 
we  must  prohibit  all  common  labor  on  that  day,  and 
that  prohibition  you  must  respect."  Take  the  law  re- 
quiring the  execution  of  the  murderer.  Why  must  the 
State  hang  him?  Some  say,  "Not  to  vindicate  the  di- 
vine law  but  for  the  good  of  society. "  Well,  a  large 
number  of  our  people  think  that  this  end  can  be  reached 
by  putting  him  in  the  penitentiary  for  life.  How  are 
they  to  be  met?  There  is  only  one  answer,  and  that  is, 
God  has  placed  "the  sword"  in  the  hand  of  the  civil 


GOD'S  MORAL  ORDINANCE.  -         65 

officer  for  this  very  purpose  and  declared  that  "Whoso 
sheddeth  man's  blood,  by  man  shall  his  blood  be  shed." 
Take  the  law  of  marriage.  Why  does  the  State  punish 
polygamy?  Some  say,  "Because  it  is  a  sin  against 
nature."  But  how  do  you  prove  that?  You  cannot 
prove  it  from  the  animal  kingdom.  You  cannot  estab- 
lish it  by  an  appeal  to  the  practices  of  heathen  and 
uncivilized  nations.  No!  The  State  punishes  polyg- 
amy because  it  is  a  crime.  According  to  what  law? 
"They  twain  shall  be  one  flesh."  Why  does  the  State 
punish  blasphemy?  You  say,  "Because  it  injures  soci- 
ety." Yes,  but  why  does  it  injure  society1?  Because 
God  has  forbidden  it,  and  God's  edict  against  it  is  the 
State's  authority  for  punishing  the  blasphemer.  Why 
is  it  wrong  for  the  State  to  license  or  tax  the  liquor 
traffic?  Because  it  is  a  moral  wrong,  and,  like  any 
other  public  crime,  should  be  prohibited.  It  is  a 
thieving,  murderous  system,  an  open  affront  to  God, 
destroying  our  people,  body  and  soul,  for  time  and 
eternity;  blasting  the  family,  smiting  the  nation  with 
a  fatal  leprosy,  and  inflicting  upon  the  church  a  loath- 
some disease.  The  State,  as  the  representative  of  the 
majesty  of  the  divine  law  and  for  the  public  good, 
should  absolutely  prohibit  this  monstrous  crime.  And 
that  is  the  only  gospel  of  temperance  that  the  ministry 
should  preach  to  this  nation. 


CHAPTER   V. 


CIVIL   AUTHORITY   FROM    GOD. 

That  God  is  the  universal  Sovereign  the  Scriptures 
abundantly  testify.  "The  Lord  has  set  His  throne  in 
the  heavens.  His  kingdom  is  over  all."  So  impressed 
was  the  historian  with  this  truth  that  he  said:  "The 
history  of  the  world  cannot  be  understood  apart  from 
the  government  of  the  world."  Garfield  quieted  the 
mob  raised  in  New  York  on  the  morning  after  the 
assassination  of  Lincoln  by  saying:  "He  dwelleth  in 
the  thick  darkness;  clouds  are  around  Him.  God 
reigns  and  the  government  at  Washington  still  stands." 
We  propose  considering  the  fact  that  civil  authority  is 
from  God.  This  is  especially  important  now  that  pop- 
ular elections  have  reduced  respect  for  civil  officers  to 
the  minimum,  in  many  cases  to  the  vanishing  point. 
When  a  monument  was  being  raised  to  Robert  Burns, 
a  Scotchman  exclaimed,  "Poor  Robby,  he  asked  for 
bread  and  they  gave  him  a  stone."  Our  civil  officers 
ask  for  respect  and  we  give  them  contempt.  It  is  time 
to  cease  "speaking  evil  of  dignities"  and  to  have  due 
regard  for  "God's  ministers." 

I .  That  civil  authority  comes  from  God  is  clearly 
taught  in  the  nature  of  things.  The  common  doctrine 
is,  that  power  is  lodged  in  the  people.  Vox  populi  vox 
dei.  But  this,  to  say  the  least,  is  unsafe.  To-day  the 
people  shout,  "Hosanna,  blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in 


CIVIL  AUTHORITY  FROM  GOD.  -          67 

the  name   of  the   Lord."     And  to-morrow  they  cry, 
"Away  with  him,  crucify  him." 

How  many  people  float  with  the  popular  tide!  To- 
day they  are  for  a  man  without  knowing  why.  To- 
morrow they  are  against  him,  and  without  cause. 
The  words  of  Caius  Marius  to  the  Roman  mob  may  be 
fittingly  applied  here: 

"He  that  trusts  you, 

Where  he  should  find  you  lions,  finds  you  hares; 
Where  foxes,  geese:  you  are  no  surer,  no, 
Than  is  the  coal  of  fire  upon  the  ice, 
Or  hailstone  in  the  sun.     Your  virtue  is 
To  make  him  worthy  whose  offense  subdues  him, 
And  curse  that  justice  did  it.    Who  deserves  greatness 
Deserves  your  hate ;  and  your  affections  are 

•  A  sick  man's  appetite,  who  desires  most  that 
Which  would  increase  its  evil.     He  that  depends 
Upon  your  favors,  swims  with  fins  of  lead, 
And  hews  down  oaks  with  rushes.     Hang  ye!    Trust  ye? 
With  every  minute  you  do  change  your  mind ; 
And  call  him  noble  that  was  now  your  hate, 
Him  vile  that  was  your  garland." 

Public  opinion  is  unstable  as  water.  But  let  us  see 
if  civil  authority  resides  here^- 

Paul,  in  his  description  of  the  ideal  government,  in 
the  thirteenth  chapter  of  Romans,  assumes  this  funda- 
mental principle:  "There  is  no  power  but  of  God: 
The  powers  that  be  are  ordained  of  God."  It  is  not 
an  uncommon  allegation  among  our  popular  orators 
and  statesmen  that  power  is  lodged  in  the  people — 
that  they  are  the  highest  authority,  the  ultimate  ap- 
peal. All  rightful  civil  authority,  they  say,  is  traceable 
to  this  fountain.  But  let  us  see.  Can  we  employ  a 
man  to  perform  the  duties  of  a  civil  officer  on  our  be- 


REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 


half  on  the  same  principle  that  we  engage  him  to  plow 
or  delve?  In  other  words,  has  every  man  the  same 
natural  right  to  exercise  civil  authority  at  pleasure  that 
he  has  to  live  and  to  perform  the  common  offices  of 
private  life?  It  is  evident  that  every  man  must  have 
this  right  in  himself,  else  he  cannot  delegate  it  to 
another.  To  have  this  power,  the  authority  of  the 
civil  officer  must  be  found  either  in  our  nature  or  in 
our  relationship.  Are  the  due  indices  of  rightful  civil 
authority  found  in  our  nature?  Man  is  a  social  being, 
and  if  the  idea  of  authority  is  primarily  lodged  in  our 
nature,  it  must  be  in  the  principles  of  sociality.  But 
do  the  principles  of  sociality  suggest  the  idea  of  au- 
thority any  more  than  gregariousness  in  a  .flock  of 
geese?  Suppose,  for  a  moment,  that  this  were  the 
origin  of  power,  who  is  to  define  this  power?  Who  is 
to  rule?  Who  is  to  say  to  the  ruler,  Thus  far,  and  no 
farther?  The  ideas  of  sociality  and  authority  are  as 
separate  and  distinct  as  day  is  from  night.  The  one 
in  no  sense  suggests  the  other.  Sociality  rather  sug- 
gests the  idea  of  equality.  All  are  conscious  of  the 
fact  that  there  is  no  logical  connection,  and  all  intui- 
tively feel  themselves  compelled  to  render  the  verdict 
that  there  is  no  natural  connection.  Authority  is  not 
lodged  in  nor  does  it  spring  from  our  nature. 

Then,  are  the  due  indices  of  rightful  civil  authority 
found  in  our  relationship?  It  is  not  to  parentage,  for 
that  ceases  at  maturity.  Whatever  influence  parents 
may  exercise  over  their  children  after  that  period,  all 
are  conscious  of  the  fact  that  their  authority  is  gone. 
Besides,  the  state  is  over  the  family,  and  holds  the  latter 


CIVIL  AUTHORITY  FROM  GOD.  -         69 

in  subjection.  It  is  not  personal  superiority.  The 
angels  are  superior  beings  to  us;  but  who  ever  thinks 
of  them  on  that  account  having  dominion  over  us? 
But  we  are  told  that  men  of  superior  mental  endow- 
ments, having  greater  capacities  for  judging  of  matters 
in  their  relations  and  consequences,  are  better  calculated 
to  take  the  foreway  in  all  matters  of  importance,  that 
men  will  naturally  subject  themselves  to  such,  and  that 
consequently  they  have  a  natural  right  to  rule.  But 
are  we  ready  to  make  this  touch-stone  of  power?  Be- 
cause one  man  has  more  gifts  than  another,  because  he 
knows  more,  forsooth,  is  he  therefore  superior  in  point 
of  right?  Our  whole  nature  revolts  at  such  an  idea. 
The  possession  of  superior  mental  endowments  no  more 
secures  the  exercise  of  civil  authority  than  the  pos- 
session of  gold  or  lands.  Besides  being  repulsive,  it  is 
not  true  in  point  of  fact  that  those  gifted  with  the 
greatest  mental  endowments  are  the  best  calculated  to 
rule,  and  are  always  chosen.  The  better  intelligence 
of  men  asserts  that  these  alone  are  not  sufficient  to  se- 
cure the  exercise  of  civil  authority.  A  man's  gifts  may 
secure  for  him  the  respect  and  esteem  of  those  ac- 
quainted with  him;  but  they  do  not  imply  that  he  has 
any  more  authority  than  is  possessed  by  the  humblest 
serf  in  the  land.  Genius  may  evoke  admiration 
and  confidence,  but  it  will  never  bring  men  to  feel  that 
they  are  under  natural  obligations  to  submit  to  it. 

Again.  It  is  not  dependence  that  gives  rise  to  the 
idea  of  authority.  A  physician  may  exercise  a  super- 
vision over  his  patients,  but  that  does  not  invest  him 
with  civil  authority.  Children  may  dictate  the  diet,  the 


70  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

rest,  and  the  exercise  of  an  invalid  father;  but  that  does 
not  invest  them  with  civil  authority.  Men  may  refer 
in  triumph  to  the  prowess  of  Nimrod,  the  mighty  hunter 
before  the  Lord,  who  founded  the  dynasty  of  Babylon 
and  ruled  by  virtue  of  his  awe-inspiring  strength.  But 
it  still  remains  a  fact,  both  of  reason  and  revelation,  that 
might  does  not  make  right,  and  that  the  weak  are  en- 
dowed with  unalienable  rights  equally  with  the  strong. 
Why  do  not  the  strong  always  rule  if  it.  is  a  God- 
given  right  that  they  should?  And  why  does  not  their 
kingdom  cease  when  they  die,  instead  of  being  given 
to  weaker  men?  This  principle  is  against  reason, 
against  the  plainest  intuitions  of  the  human  soul;  but 
above  all,  it  is  against  the  clearest  revelations  of  the 
word  of  God. 

But  we  are  told  that  this  authority  does  not  reside 
in  the  individual,  but  in  the  social  compact,  and  that 
while  individuals  have  not  this  power,  a  number  of 
them,  meeting  together  and  signing  this  compact,  con- 
stitutes authority.  Signing  a  compact  constitutes 
authority!  Then  it  is  evident  that  every  man  who  has 
not  signed  it  is  free  from  its  authority.  Can  this  be 
true?  We  may  join  a  voluntary  association  or  not,  as 
we  choose.  Have  we  this  option  in  the  state?  We 
are  born  into  the  nation.  We  can  withdraw  from  a 
voluntary  association  at  pleasure.  Have  we  this  option 
in  civil  matters?  Not  at  all.  But  there  is  still  another 

* 

consideration.  Government  has  the  power  of  life  and 
death.  This  does  not  reside  in  the  individual.  Sixty 
millions  have  not  the  right  to  execute  the  criminal. 
How,  then,  can  they  delegate  a  power  they  do  not  pos- 


CIVIL  AUTHORITY  FROM  GOD.  -         71 

sess?  The  only  possible  solution  is  that  civil  authority 
comes  from  God;  that  the  rulers  are  ministers  of  his 
appointment,  to  execute  his  law;  that  civil  society  is  an 
emanation  of  his  will,  and  that  it  exists  by  virtue  of  his 
decree.  "The  nation  is  clothed  with  an  authority  and 
has  a  majesty  which  no  power  on  earth  may  assume. 
There  is  no  human  ground  on  which  it  can  rest.  The 
President  and  Congress,  as  the  crown  and  parliament, 
rule  by  the  grace  of  God."  The  existence  and  authority 
of  the  state  flow  as  naturally  from  God  as  the  stream 
from  the  fountain. 

Then,  is  it  not  the  first  and  highest  and  all-important 
duty  of  our  nation  to  acknowledge  Almighty  God  as  the 
source  of  all  authority  and  power  in  her  fundamental 
law?  The  sin  and  danger  of  refusing  to  do  this  are 
brought  out  in  the  clearest  light  in  the  rebuke  of  apos- 
tate Israel:  "They  have  set  up  kings,  but  not  by  me: 
princes,  but  I  knew  it  not:  of  their  silver  and  their  gold 
they  have  made  idols,  that  they  may  be  cut  off." 

2 .  That  civil  authority  comes  from  God  is  distinctly 
and  forcibly  tajight  in  the  Scriptures.  The  rod  of 
Moses,  which  he  held  aloft  upon  the  mount — Aaron 
and  Hur  sustaining  his  hand,  while  Joshua  and  the 
armies  of  Israel  fought  the  Amalekites  in  the  valley  of 
Rephidim — was  a  symbol  of  the  sovereignty  of  God 
in  national  affairs.  The  anointing  of  the  kings  of  Israel 
by  the  prophets  of  God  was  the  pledge  and  seal  of  the 
authority  with  which  they  were  invested.  In  the  82d 
Psalm,  rulers  are  called  gods,  because  they  are  clothed 
with  authority  from  God  and  stand  as  His  representa- 
tives among  men.  In  Proverbs,  Wisdom  says:  "By 


72  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

me,  kings  reign  and  princes  decree  justice;  by  me, 
princes  rule  and  nobles,  even  all  the  judges  of  the 
earth."  And  His  apostles  declare  that  "rulers  are 
God's  ministers."  They  £re  the  arm  of  God  executing 
His  will  upon  earth.  This  is  a  truth  that  needs  special 
emphasis  at  the  present  hour.  A  minister  recently 
said:  "O  that  we  could  preach  with  more  unction  and 
power  upon  the  2d  Psalm!"  What  a  lesson  it  con- 
tains! "Be  wise  now,  therefore,  O  ye  kings;  serve  the 
Lord  with  fear,  and  rejoice  with  trembling;  kiss  the 
Son,  lest  he  be  angry  and  ye  perish  from  the  way 
when  his  wrath  is  kindled  but  a  little.  Blessed  are  all 
they  that  trust  in  him." 

3 .  That  civil  authority  comes  from  God  is  the  ver- 
dict of  history.  In  the  4/th  Psalm,  the  nations  are 
represented  as  the  "shields  of  the  earth"  by  which 
Jehovah  defends  His  people,  and  when  they  fail  to 
serve  this  end  He  casts  them  away  and  they  are  broken 
in  pieces.  Egypt,  once  the  granary  of  the  world,  the 
seat  of  learning,  and  the  throne  of  kingdoms,  was 
smitten  with  "the  iron  rod"  because  she  refused  to  let 
God's  people  go  at  His  command.  Instead  of  acknowl- 
edging Him,  "Egypt  worshiped  beasts  and  became 
the  basest  of  kingdoms."  Nebuchadnezzar  was  driven 
to  the  fields  where  he  ate  grass  like  an  ox  for  seven 
years.  Belshazzar  saw  his  doom  written  upon  his  pal- 
ace wall  by  the  hand  of  God,  and  Babylon,  their 
splendid  capital,  "the  beauty  of  the  Chaldee's  excel- 
lency," was  overthrown,  and  made  "the  habitation  of 
devils,  the  hold  of  every  foul  spirit,  and  the  cage 
of  every  mean  and  hateful  bird,"  to  the  intent  that 


CIVIL  AUTHORITY  FROM  GOD.  73 

they  might  know  "that  the  Most  High  ruleth  in  the 
kingdoms  of  men  and  giveth  it  to  whomsoever  He  will." 
The  Jews  were  the  chosen  people  of  God.  Unto  them 
were  committed  the  oracles  of  God  When  they  trans- 
gressed He  chastened  them,  and  when  they  repented  He 
forgave  them.  But  when  they  rejected  the  Messiah,  their 
anointed  king,  and  invoked  His  blood  upon  them  and 
their  children,  the  wrath  of  God  fell  upon  them.  The 
Roman  legions  invaded  their  land,  razed  Jerusalem  to 
its  foundation,  slaughtered  the  people  barbarously,  and 
the  remnant  escaped  to  foreign  climes.  Alexander  the 
Great  led  his  brazen  troops  to  the  end  of  the  earth,  and 
then  sat  down  to  weep  because  there  were  no  more 
worlds  to  conquer.  On  his  death-bed  he  was  asked  to 
whom  he  would  leave  his  great  empire.  He  replied, 
"Let  the  most  fit  rule."  A  strife  at  once  arose,  and  ere 
he  died,  the  Grecian  Republic  was  divided  into  four 
dynasties.  Alexander's  kingdom  was  held  together  by 
a  rope  of  sand.  It  was  quickly  broken.  The  Roman 
Empire  rapidly  grew  for  three  centuries,  until  the  wings 
of  her  eagles  overshadowed  all  nations.  Caesar  con- 
quered a  peace  every  where;  his  victory  at  Fharsalia 
over  his  rival,  Pompey,  was  the  signal  for  closing  the 
temple  of  Janus  in  token  of  universal  peace,  and  thus 
the  way  was  prepared  for  the  Prince  of  Peace,  who  then 
appeared  on  earth.  But  Rome  at  once  endeavored  to 
"destroy  the  man  child"  born  into  the  church.  Rome 
attempted  to  exterminate  the  Redeemer's  seed.  Then 
God  let  loose  "the  terrible  swarming  hordes  from  the 
Northern  hives"  who  quickly  destroyed  the  empire. 
So  conscious  were  these  "barbarian  hordes"  of  their 


74  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

divine  commission  to  do  this  that  they  denominated 
their  thundering  legions  "The  Hammer  of  the  Universe 
and  the  Scourge  of  God."  Mohammedanism  was  the 
hammer  with  which  God  broke  in  pieces  the  idols  of 
the  East.  Roman  Catholicism  was  the  iron  cage  in 
which  the  haughty  emperors  of  Europe  were  confined 
until  the  time  came  for  Calvin  and  Luther  to  proclaim 
civil  and  religious  liberty.  England  was  the  first  to 
accept  these  principles.  When  Henry  VIII.  repudiated 
the  authority  of  the  Pope,  in  1534,  a  tenth  part  of  the 
Roman  city  fell.  England  is  to-day  the  greatest  nation 
on  the  globe.  She  possesses  eighteen  million  square 
miles  of  territory,  one-fifth  of  the  habitable  globe,  lying 
on  both  sides  of  the  equator,  scattered  over  both  hemi- 
spheres, and  exposed  to  all  varieties  of  climate.  She  has 
365  million  of  population,  about  one-seventh  of  the  race 
to-day,  of  diverse  nationalities  and  various  religions. 
She  has  one  million  soldiers,  thirty  thousand  merchant 
navy  ships,  does  one-third  the  banking  business  of  the 
world,  with  12,640  million  pounds  sterling  of  wealth, 
and  8,921,000  pupils  in  school.  Civil  and  religious 
liberty  have  been  a  blessing  to  England.  The  Pilgrim 
fathers  brought  these  principles  to  America  in  the  seven- 
teenth century.  Here  they  found  a  suitable  home,  in 
a  land  separated  from  depotism  by  three  thousand 
miles  of  ocean  on  the  East  and  by  four  thousand  on  the 
West;  a  land  of  mountains,  stored  with  precious  metals, 
oil  and  gas;  of  hills  clad  with  flocks  and  herds,  and  of 
valleys  rich  with  waving  grain;  a  land  of  lakes  and 
rivers,  of  forests  and  plains — just  such  a  home  as  God 
would  provide  for  a  free  and  happy  people. 


CIVIL  AUTHORITY  FROM  GOD.  -       75 

The  Invincible  Armada  was  built  by  Philip  II.  of 
Spain,  in  1588,  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  Protest- 
antism in  England.  It  consisted  of  130  ships,  larger 
than  any  Europe  had  ever  seen.  There  was  a  land 
force  on  board  of  20,000,  under  the  Duke  of  Parma, 
and  34,000  assembled  in  the  Netherlands  ready  for 
transportation  into  England.  The  gifted  and  expe- 
rienced sea  officer,  the  Marquis  of  Santa  Croce,  was 
to  command  the  fleet.  Success  seemed  sure.  But 
God  fought  for  his  own.  Before  sailing,  Santa  Croce 
died,  and  the  Duke  of  Medina  Sidonia,  "a  person 
utterly  inexperienced  in  sea  affairs,"  received  the  com- 
mand. Shortly  after  leaving  the  port  of  Lisbon  a  vio- 
lent storm  arose;  some  of  the  ships  were  lost  and  the 
rest  returned  for  repairs.  Again  putting  to  sea  they 
approached  the  British  Isles*n  the  form  of  a  half  moon, 
the  extremes  seven  miles  apart.  A  panic  seizes  them 
in  the  first  engagement.  They  fly.  A  storm  overtakes 
them.  They  are  terribly  shattered.  "Of  the  whole 
Armada  fifty-three  ships  only  returned  to  Spain,  and 
these  in  a  wretched  condition." 

Satan  is  preparing  another  Armada  against  Chris- 
tianity in  America.  The  first  ship  is  the  liquor  traffic. 
It  puts  upon  the  public  expense  every  year  in  our  land 
880,000  paupers,  315,000  criminals,  50,000  idiots. 
Our  annual  drink  bill  is  $1,500,000,000.  It  murdered 
Haddock,  Northup,  and  Gambrell.  In  England,  two 
out  of  every  thousand  die  yearly  from  drink;  in  Scot- 
land, three;  in  France,  two;  in  Switzerland,  three;  in 
Sweden,  six,  and  in  New  York  State,  twelve.  The 
second  ship  is  speedy  and  easy  divorce.  In  England, 


76  REFORMA  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

Scotland,  France  and  the  United  States  the  divorces 
more  than  doubled  between  1870  and  1880.  In  Eng- 
land, in  1880,  the  divorces  were  two  to  every  thousand 
marriages;  Scotland,  three;  France,  nine;  in  Massachu- 
setts, forty-five.  Another  ship  is  Sabbat Ji  desecration. 
Sunday  trains,  Sunday  newspapers,  Sunday  base  ball, 
Sunday  excursions  and  concerts  have  converted  our 
Sabbath  into  a  Parisian  holiday.  Another  is  the  war 
between  organized  labor  and  concentrated  capital. 
Mormon  polygamy  and  political  corruption  are  other 
vessels.  They  make  a  frightful  array.  But  the  Cap- 
tain of  our  salvation  rules  the  sea  of  society  in  which 
they  float.  By  and  by  he  will  raise  up  a  storm  which 
will  scatter  and  disable  the  whole  fleet,  and  the  Ship 
of  State,  our  Republic,  with  Christ  at  the  helm,  will 
command  the  sea.  The  Ship  of  State  has  recently 
been  tossed  on  the  waves  of  political  excitement.  By 
earthquakes,  cyclones,  railroad  and  marine  disasters, 
the  hand  of  God  has  been  touching  her,  and  the  tim- 
bers groan.  But  still  we  would  say  to  our  great  Cap- 
tain, as  Seneca's  pilot:  "Oh,  Neptune!  you  may  save 
me  if  you  will;  you  may  sink  me  if  you  will;  but 
whatever  happens,  I  shall  keep  my  rudder  true."  The 
National  Reform  Association  aims  to  teach  the  nation 
"to  keep  her  rudder  true." 


CHAPTER    VI. 


THE   STATE   AND   THE   MORAL   LAW. 

Law  in  its  ultimate  apprehension  is  the  uniform  mani- 
festation of  the  divine  will.  The  phrase  of  Hooker  is 
too  sublime  ever  to  become  trite.  "Law  has  its  seat  in 
the  bosom  of  the  Father,  and  its  voice  is  the  harmony 
of  the  world. "  The  author  of  nature  has  established 
here  a  system  of  administration  by  means  of  rewards 
and  penalties — an  all-prevailing  scheme  of  moral  gov- 
ernment. It  is  a  fact,  not  of  deduction,  but  of  experi- 
ence, that  we  are  under  government.  To  some  actions 
pleasure  is  annexed,  to  others  pain.  Virtue  is 
rewarded,  vice  is  punished.  The  slightest  analysis  of 
our  feelings  is  sufficient  to  show  that  moral  obligation 
is  the  obligation  to  conform  our  character  and  conduct 
to  the  will  of  an  infinitely  perfect  Being,  who  has  the 
right  to  make  His  will  imperative,  and  the  power  to  pun- 
ish disobedience.  The  consciousness  of  guilt  especially 
resolves  itself  into  consciousness  of  amenability  to  a 
moral  Governor.  By  whatever  name  we  call  it,  there 
is  a  system  of  moral  government  here  as  patent  as  the 
solar  system,  and  we  are  bound  by  its  laws  as  certainly 
as  the  planets  are  bound  by  the  laws  of  gravitation. 

Burke  once  said:  "We  are  all  born  in  subjection  to  a 
great,  immutable,  pre-existent  law,  prior  to  all  our 
devices,  paramount  to  all  our  ideas,  antecedent  to  our 


78  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

very  existence,  by  which  we  are  knit  and  connected  in 
the  frame  of  the  universe,  and  out  of  which  we  can  not 
stir."  In  the  midst  of  this  great  moral  system,  as  a 
wheel  within  a  wheel,  we  find  civil  government.  Public 
security,  the  superiority  of  virtue,  the  terrible  appre- 
hensions vice  is  calculated  to  excite,  and  the  fact  that 
its  constitution  is  the  result  of  the  natural  order  of 
things,  make  the  State  an  essential  element  in  this 
moral  system.  In  this  it  appears  that  the  laws  of  the 
State  have  their  origin  in  the  Great  First  Cause. 
God's  law  regulates  the  conduct  of  civil  society. 
Cicero  said,  "Those  who  fail  to  recognize  the  will  of 
God  as  the  basis  of  all  law,  lay  the  foundation  of  the 
Government — tanquam  in  aquis — as  it  were,  in  the 
waters." 

Man  cannot  make  law.  He  can  only  discover  and 
interpret  God's  law.  When  Archimedes  broke  out  into 
such  an  ecstacy  on  discovering  a  law  in  hydrostatics; 
when  Newton  discovered  the  fact  that  the  same  power 
which  draws  the  apple  to  the  ground  is  that  which 
holds  the  moon  in  her  sphere;  when  Franklin  identified 
the  sparks  produced  by  rubbing  certain  substances  on 
the  earth  with  the  lightning;  when  Harvey  discovered 
the  fact  that  the  blood  courses  through  the  veins  and 
arteries  according  to  certain  inflexible  laws,  and  when 
Kepler  announced  the  discovery  of  the  laws  regulating 
the  movements  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  did  they  make 
known  what  were  not  pre-existing  facts?  Not  at  all. 
They  simply  discovered  the  laws  which  God  had 
ordained,  and  with  Kepler  they  bowed,  saying: 
" Father,  I  thank  thee  that  I  am  permitted  to  think 


THE  STATE  AND  THE  MORAL  LAW.  79 

thy  thoughts  after  thee."  It  is  just  so  in  the  moral 
system.  Men  may  discover  the  laws  which  God  has 
ordained,  and  apply  them  to  the  wants  of  human 
society,  but  this  is  the  highest  human  claim.  As 
Blackstone  says:  "Any  law  that  contravenes  the  law 
of  God  is  no  law  at  all. "  There  is  a  deep  philosophy 
underlying  politics.  Though  the  fact  is  so  often  lost 
sight  of,  civil  government  is  under  law  to  God  as  im- 
mutable as  the  laws  of  gravitation.  There  are  many 
politicians,  they  know  not  this;  there  are  a  few  states- 
men, they  recognize  this.  But  in  the  language  of  the 
old  apothegm,  "The  heavy  heads  of  wheat  always 
bow." 

"Pigmies  are  pigmies  still,  though  perched  on  Alps, 
And  pyramids  are  pyramids  in  vales." 

A  double  record  has  been  made  of  this  law.  i.  On 
the  human  soul.  "The  heathen  do  by  nature  the 
things  contained  in  the  law."  The  Latin  poet  Ovid 
said:  Video  meliora  proboque  Deteriora  sequor — "I 
see  and  approve  the  better  but  I  practice  the  worse. " 
2.  On  the  two  tables  at  Sinai.  The  Ten  Com- 
mandments were  proclaimed  by  God's  own  voice,  out 
of  the  flame  and  smoke  of  the  quaking  mountain,  to 
indicate  their  majesty  and  authority;  and  written  by 
his  finger  on  two  tables  of  stone,  to  indicate  their  per- 
petuity, and  then  given  to  the  Jewish  nation  as  their 
constitution.  The  king,  when  he  ascended  the  throne, 
was  required  to  write  him  a  copy  of  the  law,  and  the 
people  were  to  write  it  on  the  door-posts  of  their 
houses,  and  instruct  their  children  in  the  knowledge  of 
it.  This  was  a  model  free  government.  Our  rulers 


SO  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

and  people  are  required  to  do  likewise.  The  State  is 
the  divinely  appointed  keeper  of  both  tables  of  the 
Decalogue.  The  majesty  of  this  law  has  been  com- 
mitted to  the  State.  Here  is  the  basis  of  all  moral 
reforms.  The  Ten  Commandments  are  both  a  civil 
code  and  a  spiritual  rule  of  life.  In  the  second  sense 
they  belong  to  the  Church.  The  Church  deals  with 
matters  of  faith,  but  as  a  civil  code  they  belong  to  the 
State. 

The  State  is  the  keeper  of  the  First  Commandment. 
The  being,  authority,  and  law  of  the  State  come  from 
God.  Dr.  Taylor  tells  us  that  among  the  ancient 
Egyptians,  religion  and  the  State  were  so  interwoven 
that  you  could  not  separate  them.  Among  the  Mo- 
hammedans they  were  so  closely  connected  that  it 
made  little  difference  what  became  of  the  State,  which 
they  regarded  as  the  body,  while  religion,  which  they 
regarded  as  the  soul,  be  preserved.  The  North  Amer- 
ican Indians  said:  "Religion  is  the  mother  of  politics." 
Minos,  the  law-giver  of  Crete,  claimed  to  be  the  son  of 
Jupiter,  and  to  have  received  his  laws  from  his  reputed 
father.  Lycurgus,  the  law-giver  of  Sparta,  claimed  as 
authority  for  his  laws  the  oracle  at  Delphi,  Apollo. 
Numa  claimed  as  authority  for  his  laws  the  nymph 
Egeria.  The  Emperor  of  China  is  regarded  as  the 
Vicegerent  of  God.  He  observes  a  three  days'  fast 
every  year.  And  then  coming  out  in  his  royal  robes, 
with  bands  and  banners  of  music,  he  marches  to  the 
temple,  and  while  the  sacrifice  is  being  offered  he  rolls 
himself  in  the  dust,  uttering  words  most  disparaging 
to  himself  and  most  honoring  to  God,  indicating  that 


THE  STATE  AND  THE  MORAL  LAW.  -      81 

as  the  head  of  that  nation  he  recognizes  his  responsi- 
bility to  God.  The  Grand  Lama  of  Thibet  is  the  in- 
carnation of  Deity.  In  this  capacity  he  dispenses  civil 
offices  at  pleasure,  just  as  the  Pope  of  Rome  did  in 
Europe  for  several  centuries.  These  facts  clearly  indi- 
cate that  there  is  an  ineradicable  conviction  in  the 
human  soul  that  laws  will  not  bind  the  conscience 
unless  they  come  from  God.  The  State  must  recog- 
nize the  true  God  as  its  law-giver. 

The  State  is  the  keeper  of  the  Second  Commandment. 
With  the  principle  of  idolatry  the  State  has  nothing  to 
do.  That  belongs  to  the  church.  A  man  may  believe 
in  idolatry  if  he  will,  and  formulate  his  belief  in  a  creed 
if  he  choose  and  the  State  may  not  interfere.  But  then 
open  and  public  practice  of  it  must  be  authoritatively 
and  judicially  suppressed.  King  Josiah  was  com- 
mended of  God  because  he  went  out  through  his 
kingdom  and  cut  down  the  groves  and  broke  the 
images  in  pieces.  And  Job  says:  "If  I  were  guilty 
of  idolatry,  it  were  an  iniquity  to  be  punished  by  the 
judges."  Here  is  the  key  that  will  settle  this  vexed 
Anti-Chinese  question.  The  Chinamen  are  God's  crea- 
tures, and  as  such  they  have  a  right  to  go  where  they 
may  choose  on  God's  earth,  "for  the  earth  is  the  Lord's 
and  the  fullness  thereof."  America  does  not  belong 
to  Americans.  America  belongs  to  God,  and  the 
Chinamen  are  as  much  God's  creatures  as  Americans. 
What  right  have  the  emigrants  of  1620  to  say  to  the 
emigrants  of  1889,  You  shall  not  come?  The  China- 
men have  no  right  to  bring  their  idols  here  or 
their  idolatrous  customs.  That  is  a  breach  of  the  Sec- 


REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 


ond  Commandment,  and  our  government  was  derelict 
in  her  duty  when  she  allowed  them  to  bring  their  idols 
to  San  Francisco  and  set  up  their  Joss  houses  and  pur- 
sue their  idolatrous  ways  until  a  portion  of  that  city 
became  absolutely  leprous,  and  there  was  a  show  of 
reason  in  that  hoodlum  cry  that  was  raised,  "The  Chi- 
nese must  go!"  And  that  cry  came  rolling  over  the 
Rocky  Mountains  and  over  the  Alleghany  Mountains 
and  struck  the  Capitol  at  Washington,  and  both  houses 
respond  in  that  infamous  anti-Chinese  bill,  "No  China- 
man shall  come  to  America  to  work."  We  do  not 
hesitate  to  denominate  that  bill  anti-American,  anti- 
Christian.  In  adopting  it  we  were  sowing  to  the  winds, 
and  God  called  us  to  reap  the  whirlwinds  in  the  mas- 
sacre at  Rock  Springs,  Wyoming,  and  the  riot  against 
the  Chinamen  on  the  Pacific  slope.  Burke  once  said, 
in  the  English  Parliament,  "Except  you  guard  the 
rights  of  the  humblest  serf  that  walks  your  shore,  you 
cannot  preserve  the  rights  of  England's  proudest 
peer,"  a  sentiment  that  always  thrills  me  when  I  think 
of  it.  We  tried  the  experiment  of  trampling  upon  the 
rights  of  the  black  man,  and  in  1861  retribution  came. 
Now,  we  are  trampling  on  the  rights  of  the  yellow 
man.  Judgment  will  come  again.  The  Chinamen,  as 
God's  creatures,  have  a  right  to  come  to  America. 
They  have  no  right  to  bring  idolatry.  The  State 
should  prohibit  the  second.  It  should  not  interfere 
with  the  first. 

The  State  is  the  keeper  of  the  Third  Commandment, 
as  our  laws  making  blasphemy  and  profanity  punisha- 
ble offences  attest. 


THE  STATE  AND  THE  MORAL  LAW.        -         83 

The  State  is  the  keeper  of  the  Fourth  Commartdment . 
The  Sabbath  is  both  a  civil  and  religious  institution. 
In  the  second  sense  it  belongs  to  the  church.  The 
church  tells  us  how  we  are  to  keep  the  Sabbath.  But 
as  a  civil  institution  the  State  is  its  keeper.  The  State 
prohibits  all  public  Sabbath  desecration. 

The  prophet  Jeremiah  was  required  to  go  and  stand 
in  the  gate  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem  and  say:  "Thus 
saith  the  Lord,  ye  shall  bear  no  burden  on  the  Sabbath 
day;"  i.  e.y  all  common  labor  is  prohibited.  Just  as 
if  he  would  come  to  us  and  say:  "Thus  saith  the 
Lord,  all  saloons,  beer  gardens,  base  ball  parks  and 
theatres  shall  be  closed;  the  Sunday  newspaper,  the 
Sunday  train  and  the  Sunday  processions  shall  cease; 
the  postal  service  and  inter- state  commerce  shall  be 
prohibited  on  the  Sabbath,  and  Congress  shall  never 
hold  its  sessions  on  the  Lord's  day."  This  is  the  ground 
of  the  Sabbath  laws  which  exist  on  the  statute  books 
of  every  State  except  California.  This  is  the  govern- 
ment's authority  for  emancipating  the  2,000,000  un- 
willing toilers  in  our  land  on  the  Sabbath. 

The  State,  as  the  keeper  of  the  Fifth  Commandment, 
must  guard  the  family  against  speedy  and  easy  divorce. 
In  the  past  twenty  years  nearly  400,000  divorces  have 
been  granted  in  the  United  States.  A  man  may  marry 
four  wives  in  four  successive  months,  only  availing 
himself  of  our  divorce  laws.  That  is  "consecutive 
polygamy,"  'and  worse  than  the  "contemporaneous 
polygamy"  of  Utah. 

The  State  is  the  keeper  of  the  Sixth  Commandment. 
It  must  prohibit  murder  by  the  revolver  or  by  rum. 


84  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

Many  centuries  ago  Alexander  the  Great  had  a  pirate 
arrested.  He  asked  him:  "Why  are  you  always 
making  such  a  disturbance  robbing  ships?"  "Just  the 
same  reason  that  you  have  for  disturbing  the  whole 
world.  But  you  do  it  with  a  large  fleet,  and  they  call 
you  an  emperor;  I  do  it  with  one  petty  ship  and  they 
call  me  a  robber.  But  the  only  difference  is  in  the  size 
of  it."  You  lift  your  revolver  and  shoot  your  neighbor, 
and  they  hang  you.  But  these  men  engaged  in  the 
liquor  traffic  murder  60,000  American  citizens  every 
year,  and  you  license  the  enterprise,  you  tax  the  busi- 
ness. Now,  don't  you  see?  Kill  one  man  with  gun- 
powder, and  you  hang;  kill  60,000  with  alcohol,  and  its 
your  business,  and  "the  only  difference  is  in  the  size  of 
it."  Licensing  moral  wrong  is  an  iniquity.  In  Eng- 
land they  license  the  breach  of  the  Seventh  Command- 
ment. They  call  it  an  "act  to  prevent  contagious 
diseases."  It  is  an  army  regulation.  It  has  been  abol- 
ished in  the  army  in  India.  Where  is  the  difference 
between  licensing  the  brothel  and  the  saloon?  In 
Germany  they  require  a  candidate  for  the  position  of 
harlot  in  their  houses  of  ill-fame,  to  bring  a  certificate 
from  the  established  church  showing  that  she  has  been 
confirmed,  before  they  will  admit  her.  That  is  the 
license  system  gone  to  seed.  We  are  shocked  as  we 
think  of  Tetzel  hawking  indulgences  through  Europe. 
Our  Government  is  doing  that.  A  license  is  an  indul- 
gence. Oh  for  a  Luther  to  lift  up  a  standard  against 
the  iniquity!  This  moral  wrong  must  be  prohibited. 
"Thou  shalt  not,"  is  the  edict  of  heaven.  We  believe 
in  statutory  prohibition.  Then  crystallize  that  in  State 


THE  STATE  AND  THE  MORAL  LAW.          -       85 

constitutional  prohibition.  Then  crystallize  that  in  a 
United  States  constitutional  prohibitory  law.  Then 
God's  law  will  be  adopted,  for  it  reads:  "Thou  shalt 
not  put  the  bottle  to  thy  brother's  mouth." 

As  the  keeper  of  the  Seventh  Commandment  the  State 
must  prohibit  Mormon  polygamy.  An  institution  hav- 
ing 20,000  polygamous  marriages,  controlled  by  a 
hierarchy  more  despotic  than  the  Pope  and  his  college 
of  cardinals,  believing  in  and  practicing  "blood  atone- 
ment," by  which  600  men  have  been  murdered  in  the 
past  forty  years — it  is  a  cancer  on  our  political  body. 
In  the  name  of  the  Seventh*  Commandment  let  the 
"sword"  be  used  in  cutting  off  the  diseased  member. 

The  State  is  the  keeper  of  the  Eighth  Commandment. 
It  prohibits  stealing,  burglary,  etc.  But  what  about 
these  "longs  and  shorts,"  "bulls  and  bears"  at  Wall 
street,  New  York?  What  about  these  "corners"  on 
the  Chicago  wheat  market?  These  are  polite  names 
for  stealing  on  a  large  scale.  Armour  ran  a  "corner" 
on  the  wheat  market.  He  bought  all  the  wheat  that 
was  available.  There  was  a  scarcity.  Under  the 
pressure  he  forced  the  prices  up,  and  then  he  flooded 
the  market,  and  in  an  hour  he  reaped  a  fortune  of  five 
million  dollars.  But  because  he  was  five  million  dollars 
richer  than  he  had  a  right  to  be,  the  rest  of  us  are  five 
million  dollars  poorer  than  we  ought  to  be,  and  the 
bitter  fruits  of  that  wholesale  steal  are  eaten  at  the 
table  of  the  poor  man.  This  iniquity  should  be  pro- 
hibited. 

That  the  State    is    the   keeper  of  the   Ninth    Com- 


86  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

mandment,  our  laws  making  perjury  a  punishable 
offense  indicate. 

TJie  State  is  the  keeper  of  the  Tenth  Commandment. 
With  the  principle  of  covetousness  the  State  has 
nothing  to  do.  But  the  open  practice  of  it  must  be 
prohibited.  Achan  was  punished  because  he  coveted 
the  Babylonish  garment  and  the  wedge  of  gold. 
Ahab  was  punished  because  he  coveted  the  vineyard 
of  Naboth,  the  Jesrealite. 

These  illustrations  are  sufficient  to  indicate  that  the 
Ten  Commandments  are  the  basis  of  moral  legislation. 
They  were  the  constitution  of  the  nation  of  Israel,  and 
theirs  was  the  only  free  nation  in  the  world  at  that 
time,  and  they  were  free  because  they  had  the  Ten 
Commandments,  the  only  source  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty.  John  Calvin  and  the  Reformers  of  Switzer- 
land set  up  the  Genevan  Republic.  Every  stone  in 
that  temple  was  prepared  at  Sinai  twenty-five  hundred 
years  before.  William  the  Silent  and  the  Reformers 
of  Holland  set  up  the  Dutch  Republic.  All  the  mate- 
rial was  taken  from  the  quarry  at  Sinai.  Pym,  Hamp- 
ton, Sidney,  Cromwell  and  the  Puritans  gave  England 
civil  and  religious  liberty.  Knox,  Melville,  Hender- 
son and  the  Covenanters  gave  Scotland  civil  and  re- 
ligious liberty.  They  only  gave  what  they  found  in 
the  Decalogue.  The  Puritans  of  England,  the  Pres- 
byterians of  Ireland,  the  Covenanters  of  Scotland,  the 
Huguenots  of  France,  the  Dutch  Reformed  from  Hol- 
land brought  civil  and  religious  liberty  to  America. 
Plymouth  Rock  means  the  Ten  Commandments.  John 
Calvin  hewed  Plymouth  Rock  from  the  Alps  of  divine 
truth  before  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  embarked.  Let  Ply- 
mouth Rock  give  liberty  to  all  the  world. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


THE    RIGHTEOUS    NATION. 

While  in  America,  Canon  Farrar  delivered  a  lecture 
on  "Dante's  Divine  Comedy."  He  tells  us  how  the 
poet  was  led  by  Virgil  through  the  Inferno,  the  Hell 
where  sin  is  punished,  and  through  Purgatorio,  the 
fires  where  sin  is  purged,  and  at  last  by  Beatrice  through 
Paradise,  the  Heaven  where  the  soul  is  filled  with  God. 
Hell  represents  selfishness,  in  the  mind  of  the  poet. 
It  is  divided  into  three  sections,  "according  to  the  then 
all-inclusive  sins.  Those  sins  are  Lust,  Hate  and  Fraud. 
There  is  the  Upper  Hell,  the  Hell  of  Incontinence; 
the  Central  Hell,  the  Hell  of  Malice;  the  Nether  Hell, 
the  Hell  of  Fraud  and  Treachery,  in  the  lowest  part  of 
which  is  Satan  himself."  In  the  Introduction  he  called 
attention  to  the  "awful  virtues  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers," 
the  virtues  that  have  made  us  what  we  are.  "If  you 
are  to-day  wise  and  great,  these  virtues  have  made  you 
so.  These  are  the  virtues  which  made  the  rock  touched 
by  the  feet  of  a  few  pilgrims,  the  corner-stone  of  a 
mighty  nation.  These  virtues  inspired  the  writer  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence.  These  virtues  gave 
courage  to  the  men  who  at  Lexington  'fired  the  shot 
heard  round  the  world.'  These  virtues  inspired  the 
words  of  Canning  and  Parker,  of  Whittier  and  Long- 
fellow. These  virtues  gave  Lincoln  the  faith  which 


REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 


called  forth  the  armies  to  crush  the  rebellion,  and  led 
to  victory  the  100,000  men  under  Grant;  these  virtues 
have  grouped  the  eight  and  thirty  stars  about  the  God- 
dess of  Liberty,  and  have  flung  the  chains  from  the 
slave.  If  America  be  true  to  these  virtues,  she  will  be 
the  enlightener  of  the  world.  But  if  the  sons  of  these 
fathers  be  false  to  these  virtues,  then,  like  all  before 
her,  she  shall  fall  from  heaven  like  Lucifer  of  old. " 
"These  dead  but  sceptred  sovereigns  still  rule  us  from 
their  urns." 

When  Gladstone  had  been  defeated  by  Beaconsfield 
he  said:  "The  past  is  yours,  and  the  present  for  that 
matter.  The  future  is  ours."  The  future  has  wonder- 
ful possibilities  in  store  for  this  nation.  "America  will 
be  the  field  for  demonstration  of  truths  not  now  ac- 
cepted and  the  establishment  of  a  new  and  higher  civ- 
ilization. Horace  Walpole's  prophecy  will  be  verified 
when  there  shall  be  a  Xenophon  at  New  York,  and  a 
Thucydides  at  Boston."  But  before  this  is  realized  the 
morals  of  the  nation  must  be  lifted  up  to  a  higher 
plane  by  a  thorough  reformation.  This  is  a  Christian 
nation — Christian  in  her  origin,  history  and  life. 

Ours  is  a  Christian  nation.  This  country  was  settled 
by  Christian  men  with  Christian  ends  in  view.  The 
Pilgrim  Fathers,  before  landing  on  Plymouth  Rock, 
while  in  the  cabin  of  the  Mayflower,  drafted  a  consti- 
tution of  government  which  began  thus :  "  In  the  name 
of  God,  Amen.  For  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  main- 
tenance of  the  Christian  faith,  etc."  All  the  colonial 
charters  and  compacts  contained  the  principle  embod- 
ied in  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  which  originated  the 


THE  RICH  TE  O  US  NA  TION.  1  -       89 

settlement  of  the  Territory  of  the  Northwest,  the  cen- 
tennial of  which  has  so  recently  been  celebrated  in 
Cincinnati — "Religion,  morality  and  knowledge  are  es- 
sential to  good  government."  In  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  there  is  a  clear  and  explicit  recognition 
of  a  superintending  Providence  in  national  affairs.  .In 
thirty-four  out  of  thirty-eight  State  constitutions  "the 
higher  law"  is  recognized.  In  all  the  inaugural  addresses 
of  our  Presidents,  the  responsibility  of  all  nations  in 
general, and  ours  in  particular,  to  "the  Governor  among 
the  nations"  is  recognized.  And  then  the  chaplaincies 
in  our  armies  and  navies,  in  congressional  and  legisla- 
tive halls,  the  Bible  in  our  public  schools  and  reforma- 
tory institutions,  the  oath  in  our  courts  of  justice,  the 
oath  of  civil  office,  the  laws  protecting  the  Sabbath,  the 
laws  guarding  the  ordinance  of  Christian  marriage,  the 
laws  making  blasphemy  and  profanity  punishable 
offenses,  etc. — these  are  but  the  details  of  the  great 
leading  fact  that  Christianity  is  the  common  law  in  our 
land;  in  other  words,  this  is  a  Christian  nation. 

Writers  distinguish  between  the  nation  and  its  gov- 
ernment. The  nation  is  the  creature  of  God,  born  in 
his  providence,  maintained  by  his  bounty,  and  respon- 
sible to  him  for  its  character  and  conduct.  The  gov- 
ernment is  the  agent  set  up  by  the  nation  to  carry  out 
its  will.  Now,  a  Christian  nation  ought  to  have  a 
Christian  government — 

I.  Because  the  character  of  the  nation  is  determined 
by  the  character  of  its  government,  and  if  the  nation  be 
above  its  government  morally,  either  the  nation  must 
bring  the  government  up  to  its  level  at  first,  or  else 


90  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

the  government  will  bring  the  nation  down  to  its  level 
at  last.  Twenty-three  times  it  is  stated  in  the  Book  of 
Kings  that  "Jeroboam,  the  son  of  Nebat,  made  Israel 
to  sin"  in  worshiping  idols.  The  nation  was  confirmed 
in  idolatry.  And  in  the  days  of  the  later  kings  they 
became  so  steeped  in  idolatry  that  God  carried  them 
captive  into  Babylon  and  kept  them  in  the  furnace  of 
slavery  for  seventy  years,  until  the  cross  of  idolatry 
was  taken  away,  and  they  never  fell  into  that  sin  again 
to  this  day.  Philip  II.  of  Spain  was  a  rank  Papist. 
In  1588  he  built  the  Invincible  Armada,  to  destroy 
Protestantism  in  England  and  make  the  papal  tiara 
supreme  throughout  Europe.  Spain  is  to-day  a  papal 
kingdom.  France  revoked  the  Edict  of  Nantes  and 
expelled  400,000  Huguenots.  In  doing  so  she  slit  her 
veins  and  let  flow  her  best  blood.  The  Reign  of  Terror 
was  the  legitimate  result.  A  French  general  has  re- 
cently shown  that,  in  that  Revocation,  France  furnished 
the  Prussian  army  of  the  invasion  of  1870  more  than 
eighty  staff  officers.  Thus  her  Retribution  came. 
France  is  to-day  a  nation  of  skeptics.  In  1534  Henry 
VIII.  repudiated  the  authority  of  the  Pope,  and  made 
himself  the  head  of  the  church  of  England.  Queen 
Victoria,  with  all  her  excellencies,  enjoys  that  bad 
eminence.  One  hundred  years  ago  this  nation  adopted 
a  Constitution  which  does  not  contain  the  name  of 
God.  With  all  its  excellencies  it  is,  morally  speaking, 
a  secular  instrument.  Being  the  supreme  law  of  the 
land,  it  determines  the  character  of  the  government. 
For  a  full  century  it  has  been  exerting  its  secularizing 
influence  upon  our  Christian  nation.  And  what  with 


THE  RIGHTEOUS  NATION.  91 

Sabbath  desecration,  intemperance,  speedy  and  easy 
divorce,  and  political  corruption,  we  are  rapidly  be- 
coming a  secularized  nation.  Shall  this  work  go  on  to 
completion?  Goethe  said:  "Plant  an  oak  in  a  vase, 
and  either  the  vase  must  burst  or  the  oak  will  die." 
We  have  planted  the  tree  of  our  civil  and  religious 
liberties  in  the  vase  of  a  secular  Constitution.  Shall 
the  vase  give  way  or  the  tree  perish?  Save  our  Chris- 
tian nation  and  amend  the  Constitution.  Gideon  led 
out  an  army  of  32,000  Israelites  against  the  Midianites. 
God  said:  "The  army  is  too  large.  They  will  attrib- 
ute the  victory  to  their  strength  and  courage.  Bid  all 
who  are  afraid  to  go  home."  Twenty-two  thousand 
returned.  God  said:  "They  are  yet  too  many.  Bring 
them  down  to  the  waters  that  I  may  prove  them  there. 
All  who  are  so  indifferent  that  they  will  stoop  down 
and  leisurely  drink,  shall  return  home.  And  those 
who  are  so  intent  upon  fighting  that  they  will  not  stop 
to  drink,  but  take  up  the  water  in  their  hand  and  lap 
it  as  they  run  along,  shall  be  retained."  Three  hun- 
dred lapped  like  a  dog.  At  midnight  they  compassed 
the  camp  of  Midian,  broke  the  pitchers,  swung  their 
lamps  and  shouted.  "The  sword  of  the  Lord  and  of 
Gideon."  A  great  victory  was  won.  The  National 
Reform  Association  is  mustering  a  little  army.  They 
are  swinging  the  lamps  of  truth  and  shouting,  "King 
Jesus  reigns."  "God  gave  the  word,  the  people  pub- 
lished it.  Kings  and  great  armies  were  scattered." 

II.  Because  National  Righteousness  can  only  be  thus 
secured. 

I .    The  Race  Problem  is  up  for  settlement.     Like  the 


92  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

blood  on  Lady  Macbeth's  hand,  "The  spot  will  not 
out."  Justice  is  a  veritable  Shylock.  It  must  have 
its  pound  of  flesh.  The  Boston  merchants  invited 
Grady  to  come  and  solve  the  problem. 

Prof.  Austin  Phelps,  D.D.,  in  The  Congregationalist 
for  January  2,  1890,  has  a  review  in  the  following 
strain  of  Mr.  Grady 's  Boston  speech  on  the  "Race 
Problem,"  and  designates  the  address  "the  eloquence 
of  the  festive  assembly,  not  the  eloquence  of  affairs:" 

"We  ask,  Is  the  freedman  of  the  South  a  free  citi- 
zen?" And  we  are  told  how  fondly  the  eloquent  South- 
ern loved  his  "•'  old  mammy, 'who  tucked  him  into  his 
little  bed,  in  his  boyhood.  We  ask,  'Do  the  unwritten 
laws  of  Georgia  give  the  colored  man  a  fair  chance?' 
And  we  are  informed  what  heroic  sufferings  high-born 
ladies  of  the  South  endured,  who  had  lost  everything 
by  the  war.  We  press  the  question  of  President  Harri- 
son in  his  message  to  Congress:  '  When  will  the  black 
man  cast  a  free  ballot?'  And  we  are  told  that  the  South 
gives  to  the  world  this  year  7,500,000  bales  of  cotton, 
worth  $450,000,000.  We  are  reminded  of  Lord  Mac- 
aulay's  handling  of  the  Jacobite  objections  to  the 
execution  of  Charles  I.  We  charge  him  with  having 
broken  his  coronation  oath,  and  we  are  told  that  he 
kept  his  marriage  vow.  We  accuse  him  of  having 
given  up  his  people  to  the  merciless  inflictions  of  the 
most  hot-headed  and  hard-hearted  of  prelates,  and  we 
are  told  that  he  took  his  little  son  upon  his  knee  and 
kissed  him.  We  censure  him  for  having  violated  the 
articles  of  the  Petition  of  Right  after  having  promised 
to  observe  them,  and  we  are  informed  that  he  was  ac- 


THE  RIGHTEOUS  NATION.  .         93 

customed  to  hear  prayers  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
Truly  there  is  a  vast  difference  between  the  eloquence 
of  the  banquet  and  the  eloquence  of  affairs." 

In  the  death  of  Mr.  Grady,  of  the  Atlanta  Constitu- 
tion, the  South  has  lost  one  of  its  rising  stars.  But  he 
lived  in  the  night.  His  views  on  the  race  problem 
could  never  bring  the  day.  A  Southern  minister  lately 
expressed  the  conviction  that  National  Reform  was  the 
only  solution  of  the  race  problem.  When  this  nation 
recognizes  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  the  King  of  kings, 
and'  His  Spirit  is  poured  upon  all  classes,  then  there 
will  be  no  white  or  black,  no  Chinese  or  Irish,  no  Ger- 
man or  Bohemian,  but  all  will  be  Americans, — citizens 
of  one  great  Christian  Nation. 

Permit  me  to  state  a  few  facts  which  may  aid  us  in 
reaching  a  safe  conclusion  with  reference  to  this  ques- 
tion: 

1.  The  Negro  is  not  responsible  for  being  here.    He 
was  kidnapped  by  our  fathers  and  brought  from  his 
native  land.     He  did  not  want  to  leave  Africa;  he  was 
brought  by  force.     For  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  he 
was  held  as  a  chattel.     In  the  providence  of  God  he 
was  set  free,  but  he  is  still  here  and  here  to  stay. 

2.  The  Negro  is  a  human  being,  possessed  of  the 
same  inalienable  rights  as  the  white  man.     Paul  said, 
on  Mars'  Hill,  God  "hath  made  of  one  blood  all  na- 
tions of  men  for  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth, 
and  hath  determined  the  times  before  appointed,  and 
the  bounds  of  their  habitation."     The  Declaration  of 
Independence  embodies  this  sentiment:     "All  men  are 
created  free  and  equal,  and  are  endowed  with  certain 


94  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

inalienable  rights,  among  which  are  life,  liberty,  and 
property."  To  buy  and  sell,  to  educate  and  be  edu- 
cated, to  vote  and  to  hold  office,  to  marry  and  to  give 
in  marriage,  are  inherent  rights,  belonging  to  men  as 
men,  whether  white  or  black. 

3.  The  Negro  has  capacities  for  equal  attainments 
with  the  white  man.      Augustine,  the  greatest  theolo- 
gian of  the  Christian  centuries,  and  Toussaint  L'Ouver- 
ture,  a  far  greater  general  than  Napoleon,  were  black 
men.     Frederick  Douglass,  one  of  America's  greatest 
orators,  is  a  black  man.     The  students  of  Clark  and 
Atlanta,  of  Lincoln  and  Wilberforce  universities,  com- 
pare favorably  with  those  of  Ann  Arbor,  Wooster  or 
the  Indiana  universities.     The  race  only  needs  time  to 
outgrow  the  disabilities  of  slavery  and  throw  off  the  ele- 
ments of  barbarism  that  still  cling  to  them,  and  they 
will  be  the  peers  of  their  white  brethren  in  America. 

4.  God  has  a  purpose  in  bringing  them  here.    Joseph 
was  sent  into  Egypt  to  prepare  the  way  for  his  breth- 
ren.    His  brethren  meant  it  for  evil;   God  meant  it  for 
good.     We  brought  the  Negro  here,  and  we  meant  to 
degrade  him.     But  God  has  defeated  us;   He  means  to 
elevate  him.     The  blacks  in  America  are  the  connect- 
ing  link   between   us   and   the  Congo  and  all  Africa. 
They  will  be  the  natural  messengers  to  the  dark  conti- 
nent.    Instead  of  Senator  Butler's  proposition  to  send 
them   there   by  law,   let   us   adopt  God's   providential 
method  of  educating  and  Christianizing  them  and  pre- 
paring them  to  go  as  the  glad  and  eager  bearers  of  the 
"glad  tidings"  to  that  waiting  people.    The  seven  mil- 
lion colored  people  in  America  constitute  our  strategic 


THE  RIGHTEOUS  NATION.  .        95 

opportunity  to  reach  the  country  prepared  by  Living- 
ston and  Stanley  to  receive  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

I  find  the  thinkers  in  the  South  unanimous  in  the 
conviction  that  the  race  problem  will  settle  itself  if  the 
colored  people  are  educated  so  that  they  can  exercise 
the  privileges  of  citizenship  intelligently,  and  indoc- 
trinated in  the  Bible  principles  of  morality  and  virtue 
so  that  their  lives  will  be  upright  and  pure.  Dr.  Hay- 
good  said  recently:  "Let  us  have  law,  education  and 
religion.  These  solve  problems  and  elevate  men. 
An  honest  judge,  a  faithful  teacher,  a  consecrated 
preacher — these  three,  working  together,  can,  under 
God,  solve  any  sort  of  social  and  civil  problems.'5  The 
Doctor  has  struck  the  key-note  of  the  National  Reform 
movement.  Let  the  message  be  sounded  through  all 
this  land.  It  is  time  for  the  Christian  forces  to  rally 
around  this  common  standard.  The  great  battle  for 
the  triumph  of  Christian  principles  in  political  and  civil 
life  is  upon  us.  I  wrote  recently  on  this  subject  to 
the  Rev.  O.P.  Fitzgerald,  D.D.,  editor  of  the  Christian 
Advocate,  Nashville,  Tenn.;  he  replied  thus  beautifully: 
"We  must  not  let  Satan  divide  our  Christian  forces  now 
by  fomenting  a  fresh  sectional  strife.  Our  trouble  is 
more  a  whisky  trouble  than  anything  else.  May  the 
Lord  bless  you  in  every  good  word  and  work!''  Those 
are  golden  words,  and  they  will  serve  to  fix  in  confi- 
dence the  hearts  of  all  who  are  interested  in  moral  re- 
forms. 

I  am  convinced  that  the  solution  of  the  race  problem 
and  of  all  other  vexed  questions  in  our  land  will  be 
found  in  a  recognition  of  the  Kingly  authority  of 


96  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

Christ.  "Them  that  honor  me  I  will  honor.''  "In 
all  thy  ways  acknowledge  Him  and  He  shall  direct  thy 
paths."  "Righteousness  exalteth  a  nation." 

5.  The  injustice,  cruelty  and  inhumanity  meted  out 
to  the  blacks  in  the  South  make  a  national  crime,  for 
which  God  will  hold  us  responsible.  By  the  kindness 
of  Senator  Sherman,  I  have  before  me  a  copy  of  Sena- 
tor Ingalls'  speech  on  this  question.  He  said:  "The 
date  when  patience  will  cease  cannot  be  predicted,  but 
though  the  precise  time  cannot  be  foretold,  it  will  come ; 
and  that  it  will  come,  in  peace  or  in  blood,  is  the  inex- 
orable decree  of  destiny."  It  is  time  to  speak  to  the 
conscience  of  the  New  South.  This  iniquity  must  be 
put  away.  Those  whose  hands  are  stained  with  blood 
must  be  brought  to  justice.  If  not,  innocent  blood 
will  cry  to  God  for  revenge.  And  the  "iron  rod"  will 
fall  upon  the  whole  nation.  "Thou  shalt  break  them 
with  a  rod  of  iron;  thou  shalt  dash  them  in  pieces  like 
a  potter's  vessel." 

Two  letters  which  we  wrote  last  fall — one  from  Berea, 
Ky.,  and  the  other  from  Chattanooga,  Tenn. — are  here 
introduced  as  side-lights  on  this  problem: 

FIRST    LETTER. 

A  very  interesting  work  is  in  progress  at  Berea  Col- 
lege, Ky.,  where  I  spoke  last  week  in  the  course  of  my 
National  Reform  work.  And  the  importance  of  this 
institution  as  furnishing  a  solution  of  the  race  problem 
in  the  South  will  be  sufficient  justification  for  giving 
here  a  little  fuller  account  of  their  work.  This  is  a 
mixed  school,  and  is  an  object  lesson  for  the  South. 


THE  RIGHTEOUS  NATION.  -       97 

To  indicate  the  feeling  generally  entertained  against 
them,  one  of  the  Professors  wrote  an  article  on  the 
poor  whites  of  the  mountains — there  are  about  two 
million  of  them  in  the  mountains  from  here  down  to 
Georgia — and  offered  it  to  the  Christian  Observer,  of 
Louisville.  The  editor,  Dr.  Converse,  said:  "I  would 
be  glad  to  use  those  facts,  but  I  could  not  publish  them 
over  the  signature  of  any  one  connected  with  Berea 
College.  I  think  you  are  doing  harm  with  that  mixed 
school."  Professor  Wright  replied:  "I  recently  visited 
the  schools  of  New  York  City  and  I  found  colored 
children  in  them.  I  saw  colored  pupils  in  the  gradu- 
ating classes."  "Has  New  York  got  so  low  as  that?" 
asked  the  editor. 

The  Glenn  bill,  in  the  Georgia  Legislature,  withdrew 
the  appropriation  to  Atlanta  University  because  they 
had  twelve  white  students — the  children  of  the  Pro- 
fessors— in  the  institution.  They  would  not  allow  a 
mixed  school  even  to  that  extent.  Professor  Wright 
wrote  a  letter  to  the  Atlanta  Constitution  while  the  bill 
was  pending  and  ironically  suggested  that  they  ought 
to  go  deeper.  Instead  of  only  fining  and  imprisoning 
for  sending  white  children  to  colored  schools  in  Geor- 
gia, they  should  fine  and  imprison  all  those  parents 
who  sent  their  sons  to  Yale  or  Harvard  or  West  Point, 
or  their  daughters  to  Vassar — all  mixed  schools.  Grady 
wrote  the  following  heading  for  the  article,  "Against 
Mixed  Schools,"  and  then  published  it,  thus  misinter- 
preting Prof.  Wright's  whole  point. 

Dr.  Haygood  wrote  an  open  letter  to  the  Legisla- 
ture. He  said:  "After  the  treatment  we  have  given 


98  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

these  people  who  came  from  the  North  to  do  the  Lord's 
work  in  educating  the  colored  children — ostracising 
them  from  our  homes  and  society — it  is  just  barely 
possible  that  they  felt  that  their  children  would  not  be 
welcomed  in  our  schools.  And  it  is  folly  and  wicked- 
ness to  punish  them  for  educating  their  children  them- 
selves in  their  own  schools."  Dr.  Haygood  was  pub- 
licly rebuked  in  the  Legislature  for  his  temerity.  Cable 
left  the  South  and  went  to  Massachusetts.  He  said: 
"I  felt  like  I  never  breathed  freely  until  I  got  North." 

To  bring  the  work  of  Berea  College  to  the  attention 
of  the  public,  its  late  President,  Rev.  E.  H.  Fairchild, 
wrote  a  little  book,  giving  to  it  as  a  title  the  name  of 
the  college.  Many  interesting  facts  are  given  in  con- 
nection with  the  work  done  at  this  college  where  white 
and  black,  male  and  female,  are  educated  on  a  perfect 
equality.  The  following  extract  is  of  interest  as  show- 
ing the  present  condition  of  affairs  in  the  South: 

"As  servants,  the  colored  people  are  welcomed  eve- 
rywhere; as  equals,  nowhere.  A  colored  driver  and  a 
colored  nurse  may  ride  with  the  family  in  the  family 
carriage,  but  one  not  a  servant  must  not.  Colored 
servants  may  ride  in  a  ladies'  car,  but  a  colored  woman 
not  a  servant  must  not.  Colored  waiters  abound  in 
hotels  and  restaurants,  but  colored  guests  must  not 
appear.  Colored  barbers  shave  and  shampoo  the  most 
fastidious  white  people,  but  the  neatest  colored  man 
must  not  be  shaved  in  the  same  shop.  Colored  men 
are  good  porters  on  sleeping  cars  and  palace  cars,  but 
must  not  be  admitted  as  passengers.  They  are  cooks 
and  waiters  in  the  most  stylish  families,  but  never  sit 


THE  RIGHTE  O  US  NA  TION.  -       99 

at  their  tables.  A  colored  preacher,  a  graduate  of  a 
college  and  theological  seminary,  ever  so  able  and  cul- 
tured, would  not  be  invited  to  dine  with  his  white 
brother  of  the  same  presbytery,  even  if  the  call  to 
dinner  should  come  while  they  are  in  consultation 
about  matters  of  the  church.  These  distinctions  are 
kept  up,  not  because  colored  people  are  personally 
disagreeable  to  the  white  people.  There  is  little  such 
feeling  at  the  South.  Not  because  of  their  immorality; 
for  as  servants  they  are  admitted  everywhere.  It  is 
simply  a  caste  feeling,  a  prejudice  of  position.  This 
feeling  controls  legislation,  it  blinds  judges  and  jurors, 
it  corrupts  executive  officers,  and  it  biases  witnesses. 
Against  this  prejudice,  or  feeling,  or  taste,  or  caste, 
whatever  it  may  be  called,  Berea  College  has  thor- 
oughly committed  itself,  and  fulfils  one  of  its  most 
important  missions  in  mitigating  and  removing  it. 
There  is  nothing,  in  the  absence  of  co-education,  which 
can  secure  the  mutual  regard,  confidence  and  honor- 
able deportment  which  must  exist  between  these  races 
if  we  are  to  have  a  peaceful,  intelligent  and  virtuous 
community. 

"We  are  well  aware  that  in  seeking  to  work  such  a 
solution  in  Southern  society,  we  accept  a  herculean 
task.  We  are  not  greeted  with  cheers  and  applause  at 
every  step.  We  have  learned  to  get  along  without 
them.  We  know  that  God  approves,  and  that  many 
true  friends  pray  for  us  and  are  ready  to  share  the 
burdens.  We  also  know  that  our  cause  will  triumph." 

An  encouraging  fact,  however,  in  all  this  work  is, 
that  although  the  Southern  heart  and  conscience  is  yet 


100  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

under  the  ban,  it  cannot  stay  there  much  longer,  for  a 
new  and  better  pulse  is  beating  in  the  South.  The 
Northern  teachers  will  bring  these  two  million  poor, 
ignorant,  indolent  white  people  into  the  light  of  indus- 
try and  intelligence.  Schools  and  colleges  will  bring 
the  eight  million  colored  people  into  intelligent  citizen- 
ship, and  a  new  and  more  tender  conscience  will  find 
its  way  into  the  hearts  of  the  better  South.  Then 
another  Yale  mixed  school  will  be  in  Atlanta,  another 
Harvard  at  New  Orleans,  and  another  Vassar  at  Vicks- 
burg.  Then  the  nation's  heart  will  beat  in  unison  with 
His  whose  hands  were  pierced;  the  nation's  conscience 
respond  to  the  divine  law,  and  the  nation's  will  be  in 
submission  to  the  divine  authority.  The  nation  will 
be  in  league  with  Prince  Immanuel,  and  all  will  sing 
"Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace, 
good  will  to  men." 

SECOND    LETTER ILLITERACY    IN   THE    SOUTH. 

I  have  been  reading  the  speeches  of  Senator  Blair 
on  his  Educational  Bill  from  the  Congressional  Record. 
The  facts  presented  are  absolutely  appalling.  The 
weight  of  ignorance  that  is  settling  down  upon  this 
nation,  North  and  South,  is  indeed  alarming.  The 
statistical  tables  and  the  testimony  of  senators,  law- 
yers, editors,  ministers  and  educators,  which  he  cites, 
make  an  array  of  evidence  that  is  perfectly  over- 
whelming. 

Take  this  fact:  The  South  is  rapidly  developing  her 
boundless  resources.  But  the  ignorant  labor  of  the 
South  is  50  per  cent,  cheaper  than  the  educated  North- 


THE  RICH  TE  O  US  NA  TION.  -    101 

ern  labor.  The  tariff  protects  Northern  labor  against 
ignorant  labor  in  the  Old  World.  But  what  will  pro- 
tect it  against  ignorant  Southern  labor?  Nothing  ex- 
cept educating  Southern  laborers,  and  putting  them 
on  a  par  with  Northern  laborers. 

I  have  before  me  a  chart  representing  the  relative 
proportion  of  illiteracy,  in  the  different  States  of  the 
Union.  It  is  very  dark  in  the  South  and  comparatively 
light  in  the  North.  In  the  sixteen  Southern  States, 
containing  one-third  of  the  population  of  the  nation, 
are  found  three-fourths  of  the  nation's  illiteracy.  Ohio 
has  5-5  Per  cent,  illiterate.  She  spends  annually 
$7, 800,000  for  public  schools;  has  $2 1,5  00,000  in  vested 
in  school  property,  and  $1,550,000,000  in  taxable 
property.  Alabama  has  5 1  per  cent,  illiterate.  She 
spends  annually  $500,000  for  public  schools,  has  $500,- 
ooo  invested  in  school  property,  $112,500,000  in  tax- 
able property.  It  is  evident  that,  being  members  of 
the  same  nation,  Ohio  should  assist  Alabama  in  her 
educational  work.  In  Pennsyslvania,  7  per  cent,  are 
illiterate;  $7,500,000  annually  are  expended  for  public 
schools;  $25,750,000  are  invested  in  school  property, 
and  $1,675,000,000  in  taxable  property.  In  Georgia, 
55  per  cent,  are  illiterate,  while  only  $250,000  are 
annually  expended  for  public  schools,  $500,000  in- 
vested in  school  property,  and  $125,000,000  in  taxable 
property.  Interest  in  our  common  nationality  makes  it 
the  imperative  duty  of  Pennsylvania  to  assist  Georgia  in 
removing  the  dark  cloud  of  ignorance  resting  upon  her. 

In  New  York,  5.5  per  cent,  are  illiterate,  $10,000,- 
ooo  are  expended  annually  for  public  schools,  $31,- 


102  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

000,000  invested  in  school  property,  and  $2,600,000,- 
ooo  in  taxable  property.  In  South  Carolina,  55-4  per 
cent,  are  illiterate,  $250,000  are  expended  annually  for 
public  schools,  $500,000  invested  in  school  property, 
and  $125,000,000  in  taxable  property.  But  the  igno- 
rance in  South  Carolina  affects  New  York  as  gangrene 
in  the  foot  deranges  the  whole  body.  It  is  the  urgent 
duty  of  New  York  to  assist  South  Carolina  in  her 
educational  work. 

In  Massachusetts,  6.5  per  cent,  are  illiterate,  $4,- 
750,000  are  annually  expended  for  public  schools, 
$21,500,000  invested  in  school  property,  and  $1,575,- 
000,000  in  taxable  property.  In  North  Carolina,  48.3 
per  cent,  are  illiterate,  $250,000  expended  annually 
for  public  schools,  $500,000  invested  in  school  prop- 
erty, and  $150,000,000  in  taxable  property.  Who 
cannot  see  that  Massachusetts  owes  it  to  North  Caro- 
lina to  assist  her  in  removing  this  ignorance?  "The 
wealth  of  the  North  should  give  of  its  abundance  to 
supplement  the  educational  endeavor  of  the  South." 

For  the  past  twenty  years  the  M.  E.  Church  has 
been  in  the  field.  During  that  time  they  have  spent 
$1,915,000.  They  have  41  institutions,  328  teachers, 
and  about  7,688  students.  Among  these  they  have 
eight  universities  for  colored  students  and  three  (since 
Grant  and  Chattanooga  have  been  consolidated)  for 
white  students.  They  have  one  theological  seminary 
and  six  Biblical  departments.  The  Collegiate  Institu- 
tions for  colored  people  are:  Centenary  Biblical  Insti- 
tute, Baltimore,  Md.,  223  students;  Central  Tennessee 
College,  Nashville,  545  students;  Claflin  University, 


THE  RIGHTEOUS  NATION,  .    103 

Orangeburg,  S.  C.,  946  students;  Clark  University, 
Atlanta,  Ga.,  340  students;  New  Orleans  University, 
New  Orleans,  La.,  266  students;  Philander  Smith  Col- 
lege, Little  Rock,  Ark.,  185  students;  Rust  University, 
Holly  Springs,  Miss.,  355  students,  and  Wiley  Univer- 
sity, Marshall,  Texas,  230  students. 

The  Congregational  Church,  through  the  American 
Missionary  Association,  has  established  Fisk  Univer- 
sity, Nashville,  Tenn.;  Atlanta  University,  Atlanta, 
Ga.;  Straight  University,  New  Orleans,  La.;  Telagoo 
University,  Texas;  Howard  University,  Washington, 
D.  ,C.,  and  Talladega  College,  Ala.  The  amount  of 
money  expended  and  the  number  of  souls  reached  is 
equal  to  that  of  the  sister  denomination.  The  Baptists 
have  expended  $2,000,000  and  the  Presbyterians 
$1,500,000  in  educating  the  colored  people. 

Now,  Senator  Blair  proposes  to  supplement  this  with 
a  national  donation  of  several  millions  a  year  for  fifteen 
years,  that  the  dark  cloud  of  ignorance  may  be  scat- 
tered. 

It  was  my  privilege  to  visit  Nashville,  Tenn.,  an  ed- 
ucational center  in  the  South.  Here  is  Vanderbilt  Uni- 
versity, under  the  control  of  the  M.  E.  Church  South, 
with  a  campus  of  seventy-six  acres,  buildings  costing 
$500,000,  and  an  endowment  of  $1,500,000.  On  the 
other  side  of  the  city  is  the  old  Nashville  College. 
During  the  war  it  was  abandoned,  but  since  then  it 
has  been  run  as  a  Normal  College.  The  buildings  are 
ancient,  but  substantial.  They  get  the  use  of  the  old 
Peabody  fund,  and  will  probably  have  it  all  ($1,500,- 
ooo)  for  an  endowment  soon.  These  two  are  for  whites, 


104  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

and  have  500  students  each.  Near  the  former  is  Fisk 
University.  The  Fisk  Jubilee  Singers  canvassed  Amer- 
ica, and  sang  in  the  courts  of  Europe,  and  cleared 
$125,000.  With  this  the  ladies'  dormitory  was  erected. 
The  gentlemen's  dormitory  cost  $60,000,  and  the  gym- 
nasium cost  $5,000.  They  expect  to  break  ground 
for  their  main  building  soon.  There  are  over  500  stu- 
dents here.  Near  the  latter  is  Central  Tennessee  Col- 
lege, with  nearly  600  students.  These  four  institutions 
are  on  the  most  friendly  terms.  The  students  and 
professors  of  each  visit  each  other.  Here  is  the  solu 
tion  of  the  race  problem.  Educate  and  Christianize 
both,  and  they  will  dwell  together  in  perfect  peace. 
It  was  also  my  privilege  to  speak  in  the  last  two  col- 
leges named,  and  arrangements  have  been  made  for 
more  than  one  lecture  in  the  Normal  College. 

I  next  visited  Chattanooga,  a  growing  city  of  55,000. 
My  mission  here  was  to  lecture  in  U.  S.  Grant  Univer- 
sity. The  original  Grant  University  was  founded  at 
Athens,  Tenn.,  fifty-seven  miles  northeast,  in  1867. 
The  Chattanooga  University  was  chartered  in  1886. 
Last  year  the  two  were  consolidated  under  one  board. 
This  is  one  of  the  institutions  that  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  has  established  for  educating  the  poor 
whites  in  the  mountains,  of  which  there  are  two  or 
three  million.  They  are  not  the  "white  trash."  They 
are  originally  Scotch,  Irish  and  German,  people  with 
iron  in  their  blood,  who  always  opposed  slavery  and 
were  loyal  to  the  North  in  the  war.  They  occupy  the 
mountainous  districts  of  West  Virginia,  Eastern  Ken- 
tucky and  Tennessee,  North  and  South  Carolina,  Geor- 


THE  RIGHTEOUS  NATION.  ^105 

gia  and  Alabama.  Whenever  the  Union  army  struck 
their  territory  they  found  friends.  There  are  between 
two  and  three  millions  of  them  and  they  are  shock- 
ingly illiterate.  And,  as  an  illustration  which  is  hardly 
too  far  drawn,  it  may  be  said  they  regard  it  as  almost 
immaterial  what  order  is  observed  in  spelling  a  word 
just  so  all  the  letters  are  given.  It  may  be  spelled 
backward,  or,  beginning  in  the  middle,  may  be  spelled 
each  way — all  are  perfectly  right!  The  few  schools 
they  have  are  a  travesty  on  education.  The  spelling- 
book  is  the  chief  and  often  the  only  text  book.  The 
"moon-shiners" — illicit  distillers — are  furnished  from 
this  class.  They  are  a  gifted,  but  untaught  and  so 
a  dangerous,  people;  but,  educated  and  Christianized, 
they  have  capacities  for  the  highest  citizenship. 

Saturday  night  I  spent  in  the  Seminary,  in  company 
with  the  Rev.  Mr.  McKee,  the  eldest  of  two  brothers 
in  the  ministry.  He  received  his  classical  education  in 
Centre  College,  Danville,  Ky.,  and  his  theological 
course  at  Princeton  Seminary.  He  spent  eleven 
months  as  missionary  in  the  mountains  of  Kentucky, 
and  is  now  pastor  of  a  Presbyterian  church  twelve 
miles  from  Chillicothe,  O.  His  brother  has  taken  his 
place  as  mountain  missionary.  From  his  account  the 
ignorance  and  degradation  of  the  people  there  are  ap- 
palling. A  man  will  pay  fifty  dollars  for  a  gun  and 
carry  it  everywhere  with  him,  while  his  family  of  twelve 
live  in  one  room  and  have  scarcely  clothes  to  cover 
their  bodies.  One  day  he  was  preaching  in  a  school 
house  with  a  log  for  a  pulpit.  A  rowdy  came  forward 
and  lifting  his  revolver,  said:  "I  will  give  just  time  to 


106  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

count  three  before  you  climb  out  at  the  window  behind 
you."  Mr.  McKee  was  a  trained  athlete  and  had  spent 
some  time  on  the  plains  as  a  cow  boy.  So  he  was  not 
afraid.  He  laid  down  his  Bible  on  the  pulpit  and  said 
indifferently,  "O,  you  need  not  trouble  me;  I  came 
here  to  benefit  the  people,  not  to  quarrel."  And  he 
quietly  moved  toward  the  fellow.  Again  he  repeated 
his  threat  and  held  his  revolver  up.  At  this  Mr.  McKee 
grasped  the  revolver  in  one  hand  and  knocked  the  fel- 
low down  with  the  other.  Laying  down  the  revolver 
he  picked  up  the  fellow  and  threw  him  out  of  the  door. 
Then  he  took  up  the  revolver  and  broke  it  in  two  and 
threw  the  pieces  out  at  the  window,  and  then  finished 
his  sermon.  Afterwards  some  one  asked  him:  "Why 
were  you  so  rough  on  him?"  "Why  if  I  had  allowed 
him  to  drive  me  out,  then  when  I  went  over  to  Mud 
Run  the  roughs  there  would  have  driven  me  out,  and 
over  at  Lick  Springs  the  same,  would  have  occurred. 
I  must  teach  them  a  lesson  or  leave  the  country." 
"Well,"  said  the  man,  "your  preaching  has  done  us 
much  good,  but  the  lesson  you  gave  that  brute  was  the 
best  thing  that  our  community  has  ever  received. 
These  characters  now  understand  that  a  man  can  preach 
and  still  not  be  a  coward."  This  is  a  place  of 
historic  interest.  From  the  college  window  I  saw 
Lookout  Mountain,  where  Hooker  fought  above  the 
clouds;  Mission  Ridge,  which  Sherman  tried  all  day 
to  ascend  but  could  not;  Cemetery  Hill,  which  Phil. 
Sheridan  scaled  and  broke  the  enemy's  line,  and  Pea 
Ridge,  where  Thomas,  reinforced  by  Hooker,  turned 
the  enemy's  left.  Beyond  are  Crab  Orchard,  distinctly 


THE  RIGHTEOUS  NATION.  -  107 

visible,  and  Chickamauga  Creek,  where  Garfield  dis- 
tinguished himself. 

Near  us  is  the  old  fort  where  Grant  witnessed  this 
fearful  carnage.  Grant  recognized  the  strategic  impor- 
tance of  Chattanooga.  When  he  took  command  of  the 
Army  of  the  Tennessee  he  telegraphed  Burnside  from 
Louisville:  "Hold  Chattanooga."  The  fearless  reply 
came:  "  We  will  hold  it  till  we  starve."  All  the  Union 
army  of  the  West  was  gathered  here.  If  Bragg  had 
not  blundered  at  Chickamauga,  and  failed  to  follow  up 
his  advantage,  he  could  have  swept  the  whole  Union 
army  into  the  river.  But  that  was  not  to  be.  Atlanta, 
140  miles  southeast,  and  Knoxville,  100  miles  north- 
east, soon  fell,  and  the  backbone  of  the  Rebellion  was 
broken.  The  same  strategic  points  are  taken  in  attack- 
ing the  ignorance  of  the  South.  Nashville,  Chatta- 
nooga, Knoxville  and  Atlanta  are  educational  centers. 

2.  /;/  our  relations  and  dealings  with  the  Indians. 
It  is  difficult  to  define  their  standing.  They  are  born 
here,  and  yet  are  not  home-born  citizens.  They  are 
neither  aliens  nor  foreigners,  and  they  cannot  become 
naturalized  citizens.  They  have  been  called  "domes- 
tic subjects.  "  Daniel  Webster  called  them  "perpetual 
inhabitants  with  diminutive  rights."  Perhaps  they  are 
best  called  "the  wards  of  the  government."  Cleve- 
land's inaugural  stated  our  duty  toward  them:  "The 
conscience  of  the  people  demands  that  the  Indians 
within  our  boundaries  shall  be  fairly  and  honestly 
treated  as  wards  of  the  government,  and  their  educa- 
tion and  civilization  promoted  with  a  view  to  their 
ultimate  citizenship. "  These  demands  have  not  been 


108  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

met  hitherto.  That  noble  woman,  Helen  Hunt  Jack- 
son, in  a  work  entitled,  "A  Century  of  Dishonor," 
graphically  describes  our  shameful,  disgraceful  treat- 
ment of  these  wards.  History  execrates  Charles  I. 
because  he  made  promises  to  gain  an  end  and  then 
broke  them.  That  is  what  we  have  done  with  the 
Indians.  Treaty  after  treaty  has  been  made  and  broken . 
They  asked  for  lands  "they  can  call  their  own,  to  make 
a  home. "  We  gave  them  land  and  then  drove  them 
off  of  it — promising  to  give  them  money,  which  they 
never  got.  "The  Ogallalla  Sioux  have  been  driven 
from  their  homes  eight  times  since  1863!"  Each  time 
a  promise  was  made  and  broken.  No  wonder  their 
chief  refused  with  scorn  to  hear  the  commissioner  the 
last  time.  He  said  to  him:  "All  the  men  who  come 
from  Washington  are  liars.  The  bald-headed  ones  are 
the  worst  of  all.  You  are  a  bald-headed  liar!  I  don't 
want  to  hear  one  word  from  you."  It  is  said,  the 
Indian  will  not  work.  But  what  are  the  facts?  ''82,000 
of  the  265,000  Indians  have  adopted  citizens'  dress, 
not  counting  the  60,000  Indians  of  the  civilized  tribes; 
15,000  houses  have  been  built  by  them;  they  have 
under  cultivation  230,000  acres  of  land,  and,  with  the 
civilized  tribes,  630,000  acres,  nearly  two  acres  for 
every  man,  woman  and  child;  what  are  known  as  the 
"uncivilized  Indians'  raised  last  year,  in  round  num- 
bers, a  million  bushels  of  corn,  nearly  as  much  wheat, 
half  a  million  bushels  of  oats  and  barley,  and  as  many 
bushels  of  vegetables;  of  stock,  they  own  235,000 
horses  and  mules,  103,000  head  of  cattle,  68,000  swine, 
and  about  1,000,000  sheep.  These  figures  exclude  the 


THE  RIGHTEOUS  NATION.  '  109 

products  and  possessions  of  the  60,000  civilized  In- 
dians who  are  now  ripe  for  territorial  government, 
and  whose  possessions  would  more  than  double  the 
amount. "  President  Merrill  Edwards  Gates  read  a 
lecture  before  "The  American  Social  Science  Associa- 
tion," in  1885,  at  Saratoga,  on  "Land  and  Law  as 
Agents  in  Educating  Indians,"  in  which  he  shows  that 
"land  and  law"  have  been  shamefully  withdrawn  from 
them.  This  is  a  common  newspaper  item:  "The 

United  States  troops,  under  Lieutenant ,  came 

upon  the  camp  of  Chief  Geronimo  and  killed  a  squaw, 
three  bucks  and  a  child."  That  means  they  murdered 
a  woman,  her  three  half-grown  boys  and  a  child.  Con- 
gress enacted  that  punishment  shall  "not  extend  to 
crimes  committed  by  one  Indian  against  the  person  or 
property  of  another."  Here  is  a  case:  "Crow  Dog" 
murdered  "  Spotted  Tail; "  the  District  Court  of  Dakota 
tried  the  guilty  chief,  convicted  and  sentenced  him; 
the  United  States  Court  overruled  this  action  and  re- 
leased him.  The  son  of  "Spotted  Tail"  shot  Chief 
"White  Thunder;"  he  was  arrested  and  sent  to  Fort 
Niobrara;  the  Indian  Department  at  Washington  or- 
dered him  liberated.  When  the  Indian  is  wronged  by 
the  whites  he  can  get  no  redress  in  the  courts.  Law 
means  injustice  to  the  Indian.  It  is  the  white  man's 
formal  way  of  robbing  him  of  his  property,  liberties 
and  life.  The  government  made  a  treaty  with  the 
Indians,  pledging  itself  to  provide  for  their  education, 
"Yet  our  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  has  again 
and  again  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  govern- 
ment has  funds  now  amounting  to  more  than  $4,000,- 


110  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

OOO,  which  are  by  treaty  due  to  Indians  for  educational 
purposes  alone."  Our  policy  has  been  extermination. 
We  have  driven  them  to  the  summit  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  bid  them  read  their  doom  in  the  setting 
sun.  Our  Christian  civilization  has  produced  the  phrase, 
"There  is  no  good  Indian  but  a  dead  Indian."  Captain 
Pratt,  Superintendent  of  the  Carlisle  School  for  In- 
dians, said:  "We  accept  the  watchword,  'There  is  no 
good  Indian  but  a  dead  Indian.'  Let  us,  by  Christian 
education  and  patient  effort,  kill  the  Indian  in  him  and 
save  the  man." 

3.  In  our  relations  and  dealings  with  the  Chinese. 
The  Chinamen  came  to  America  about  forty  years  ago. 
They  were  needed  as  laborers  in  California  and  were 
solicited.  Owing  to  the  traditional  exclusiveness  of 
the  Chinese  nation  not  many  came,  however,  until  after 
the  Burlingame  treaty  in  1868,  granting  mutual  rights 
and  privileges  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  two  countries. 
Under  its  operation  100,000  Chinamen  got  into  this 
country.  They  reclaimed  the  swamps  of  the  Pacific 
coast,  built  our  railroads,  and  cultivated  fruits.  They 
continued  coming  at  the  rate  of  3,000  in  two  months, 
but  as  many  returned,  and  in  many  years  there  had 
been  no  material  increase.  The  spirit  of  race  preju- 
dice arose  against  them,  and  they  were  subjected  to  all 
kinds  of  indignities.  The  cry  of  alarm  was  raised  on 
the  Pacific  coast.  Something  must  be  done  to  pro- 
tect the  people  of  that  coast  from  the  immigration  of 
yellow,  non-voting  laborers.  The  sand-lot  orators 
took  up  the  hoodlum  cry,  "The  Chinese  must  go." 
That  cry  came  rolling  over  the  mountains  and  struck 


THE  RIGHTEOUS  NATION.  „      111 

the  capitol  at  Washington.  In  response  an  act  was 
forced  through  Congress,  under  the  leadership  of  the 
representatives  of  the  Pacific  coast,  excluding  the 
Chinamen.  But  President  Hayes  vetoed  it  because  it 
violated  the  provisions  of  the  Burlingame  treaty.  As 
a  sop  to  the  hoodlums,  however,  a  commission  was  ap- 
pointed, which  went  to  China  under  the  lead  of  James 
B.  Angell,  President  of  Ann  Arbor  University,  and 
secured  a  supplementary  treaty  providing  for  a  limited 
restriction  of  the  immigration  of  Chinese  laborers  into 
this  country,  a  limited  restriction  which  should  be  rea- 
sonable. In  1880  the  cry  from  California  was  so  loudv 
that  the  politicians  were  alarmed,  and  both  political 
parties  inserted  anti-Chinese  planks  in  their  platforms. 
In  pursuance  of  this  the  Forty-seventh  Congress  passed 
a  bill  which  President  Arthur  vetoed  because  it  violated 
the  supplementary  treaty,  in  that  it  prohibited  the  im- 
portation of  Chinese  laborers  into  this  country  abso- 
lutely for  a  term  of  twenty  years.  This  was  deemed 
unreasonable.  Still  the  cry  for  relief  came  up,  and  the 
Forty-seventh  Congress  was  literally  "held  by  the 
throat"  until  they  gave  it.  And  on  May  6,  1882,  that 
Congress  passed  the  bill  which  went  into  effect  August 
4  of  the  same  year.  That  bill  provides  that  "no  Chi- 
naman shall  come  to  America  to  labor  for  ten  years." 
In  1886  the  Forty-ninth  Congress  passed  a  bill  that 
excludes  them  entirely  as  laborers.  This  was  thought 
reasonable.  But  the  truth  is  it  is  most  unreasonable. 
We  do  not  hesitate  to  pronounce  it  infamous.  It  is 
anti-human,  anti-American,  anti-Christian.  In  adopt- 
ing it  we  sowed  the  wind,  and  we  reaped  the  whirlwind 


112  REFORMATION-  PRINCIPLES. 

in  the  massacre  of  one  hundred  Chinamen  at  Rock 
Springs,  W.  T. 

This  triple  injustice  will  be  the  conductor  bringing 
down  the  lightnings  of  divine  wrath  upon  us,  except 
we  repent  and  put  it  away. 

The  Prophet  Jeremiah  was  sent  with  a  heavy  mes- 
sage to  Jehoiakim,  king  of  Judea,  because  of  his  op- 
pression, injustice  and  violence.  "Woe  unto  him  that 
buildeth  jiis  house  by  unrighteousness  and  his  cham- 
bers by  wrong."  The  warning  was  addressed  to  the 
head  and  representative  of  the  nation.  It  is  equally 
applicable  to  our  nation.  In  it  God  rebukes  us  for  our 
oppression,  injustice  and  violence.  It  is  time  to  put 
away  this  folly.  Let  a  Christian  education  be  provided 
for  all — for  white,  black,  yellow  or  red.  "A  man's  a 
man  for  a'  that."  Let  this  nation  lift  up  its  soul  as  one 
man  to  the  Prince  of  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  His 
spirit  will  descend,  uniting  us  as  one  people. 

As  I  entered  Washington  City,  the  tall  pillar  called 
"Washington's  monument"  came  into  full  view.  There 
are  stones  in  it  from  all  the  different  countries.  It  is 
a  fit  emblem  of  our  composite  nationality.  Immi- 
grants from  all  nations  come  to  us,  and  are  moulded 
into  one  American  nation.  The  lifeless  stones  in  the 
monument  are  bound  by  cement.  But  in  the  nation 
the  living  stones  are  wrought  into  a  collossal  man  by 
the  power  of  an  informing  national  life.  That  life  is 
of  God,  and  must  either  remain  in  union  with  him  or 
perish.  "Blessed  is  the  nation  whose  God  is  the  Lord." 

"A  union  of  hearts  and  a  union  of  hands, 

A  union  of  States  none  can  sever ; 

A  union  of  lakes  and  a  union  of  lands, 

And  the  flag  of  the  Union  forever." 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


SABBATH     REFORM. 

A  celebrated  lecturer  made  use  of  this  illustration: 
"Wild  geese  fly  in  the  shape  of  a  wedge.  When  the 
leader  grows  tired  he  falls  back  and  another  comes  for- 
ward to  take  his  place,  but  all  steadily  advance."  So 
all  moral  reforms  are  floating  in  the  atmosphere  of  the 
divine  providence.  At  one  time  one  reform  is  in  the 
advance,  at  another  time  another  reform;  but  all  are 
steadily  progressing.  The  Sabbath  Reform  is  in  the 
lead  at  the  present  time.  It  is  the  question  of  the 
hour.  As  its  enemies  are  becoming  more  intense  in 
their  opposition  to  it,  so  its  friends  are  becoming  more 
pronounced  in  its  defense.  The  one  would  move  the 
hand,  on  the  dial-plate,  back  to  the  continental  Sun- 
day of  Europe.  The  other  propose  to  move  it  for- 
ward to  the  true  Christian  Sabbath — the  divine  insti- 
tution, so  essential  to  the  well-being  of  man,  soul  and 
body,  for  time  and  eternity. 

I.       SCRIPTURE    TESTIMONY. 

The  Bible  teaches  that  the  Sabbath  is  an  ordinance 
of  God.  It  is  the  arrangement,  the  appointment,  and 
the  contrivance  of  heaven  for  man.  It  is  the  deep 
thought  of  God.  It  has  its  necessity  in  the  very  con- 
stitution of  our  nature,  "The  Sabbath  was  made  for 
man,"  and  its  authority  in  the  edict  of  Jehovah,  "Re- 


114  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

member  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy/'  It  is  a 
world-old  and  world-wide  institution,  an  original  and 
absolute,  a  universal  and  permanent  institution.  There 
are  ten  facts  leading  us  to  this  conclusion,  just  as  many 
as  there  are  commandments,  and  the  importance  of  the 
subject  is  a  sufficient  justification  for  naming  them  in 
this  presence. 

1.  The  Words  of  Institution      "And  on  the  seventh 
day  God  ended  his  work,  which  he  had  made;   and  he 
rested  on  the  seventh  day  from  all  his  work,  which  he 
had   made.     And   God   blessed   the   seventh  day  and 
sanctified  it."    To  bless  and  sanctify  a  day  signified  to 
set  it  apart  from  a  common  to  a  religious  use,  and  there 
is  an  implied   promise   of  blessing  to  those  who  thus 
honor  it.    So  much  is  intimated  in  the  words  of  Isaiah: 
"If  thou  turn  away  thy  foot  from  the  Sabbath,"  i.  e.y 
cease  trampling  under  foot  the  Sabbath,   "from  doing 
thy  pleasure  on  my  holy  day,  and  call  the  Sabbath  a 
delight,   the   holy  of  the    Lord,  honorable;   and   shall 
honor  him,  not  doing  thine  own  ways,  nor  finding  thine 
own  pleasure,  nor  speaking -thine  own  words.      Then 
shalt  thou  delight  thyself  in  the  Lord,  and  I  will  cause 
thee  to  ride  upon  the  places  of  the  earth,  and  feed  thee 
with  the  heritage  of  Jacob  thy  father;  for  the  mouth 
of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it."     These  injunctions  and 
promises  were  not  given  and  made  respecting  a  local 
and  temporary,  but  respecting  the  universal  and  per- 
manent, institution  of  the  Sabbath. 

2.  The  Reason  Assigned  for  the  Institution.      "Be- 
cause that  in  it  he  had  rested  from  all  his  work,  which 
God  had  created  and  made."     The  same  reason  is  as- 


SABBATH  REFORM.  .      115 

signed  in  the  fourth  commandment.  "In  six  days  the 
Lord  made  heaven  and  earth,  and  rested  the  seventh 
day:  wherefore  the  Lord  blessed  the  Sabbath  day,  and 
hallowed  it."  It  is  evident  that  this  reason  existed 
from  the  beginning,  as  well  as  2,500  years  later,  when 
the  law  was  given.  And  if  the  fact  existed,  the  ordi- 
nance which  rests  upon  it  likewise  existed. 

3.  The  Septenary  Division  of  Time  possessed  from 
tke  beginning  indicates  the  existence  of  tJie  Sabbath. 
We  read  that  "in  process  cf  time"  Cain  and  Abel 
brought  their  sacrifices.  Literally  it  is  "in  the  end  of 
days,"  and  Hebrew  scholars  believe  there  is  a  refer- 
ence to  the  weekly  Sabbath,  and  an  intimation  that 
public  worship  was  being  engaged  in  on  that  day. 
Lamech's  seven -fold  vengeance  originated  in  the  week. 
On  three  occasions  Noah  "waited  seven  days,"  and 
then  he  sent  out  the  dove.  Jacob  fulfilled  Rachel's 
"week."  A  Babylonian  tablet  recently  discovered, 
which  ante-dates  Moses,  reads  as  follows:  "The  sev- 
enth day,  a  Sabbath,  the  Prince  of  mighty  nations,  the 
flesh  of  birds  and  cooked  fruits  eats  not,  in  His  chariot 
He  rides  not,  in  His  palace  He  legislates  not;  to  make 
an  high  place  is  suitable,  lifting  His  hand,  the  high 
place  of  the  gods,  He  worships."  Homer  and  Hesiod, 
two  Greek  poets,  who  flourished  900  years  before 
Christ,  and  Callimachus,  another  who  flourished  700 
years  later,  refer  to  the  seventh  day  as  holy.  Theophi- 
lus,  of  Antioch,  says,  concerning  the  seventh  day,  "The 
day  which  all  mankind  celebrate."  Eusebius,  the 
father  of  historians,  observes,  "almost  all  the  philoso- 
phers and  .poets  acknowledge  the  seventh  day  as  holy." 


116  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

Josephus,  the  Jewish  historian,  says,  "No  city  of 
Greeks  or  barbarians  can  be  found,  which  does  not 
acknowledge  the  seventh  day's  rest  from  labor.  "  (See 
prize  essay  by  J.  A.  Quinton,  page~  12.)  Now,  the 
question  is,  how  came  they  by  this  septenary  division 
of  time?  It  is  not  a  natural  division.  There  is  nothing 
in  the  movement  of  sun  or  moon  or  stars  to  suggest  it. 
It  is  purely  arbitrary.  The  only  account  you  can  give 
of  it  is,  God  ordained  the  Sabbath  in  the  beginning, 
and  it  came  down  by  tradition  to  all  kindreds,  and  na- 
tions, and  tongues,  and  people. 

4.  The  examples  of  eminent  piety  in  the  earliest  ages 
prove  the  existence  of  the  Sabbath.     Had    Abel,   and 
Enoch,  and  Noah,  and  Melchizedek,  and  Abraham,  and 
Isaac,  and    Jacob,   and    Joseph,  no    Sabbath?      Such 
piety  could  not  exist  without  it.      These   elders  were 
men  of  like  passions  with  ourselves,  and  they  could  not 
have  obtained  such  a  good  report  without  the  aid  of 
the  Sabbath.      Bickerstith,  one  of  the  best  spirits  our 
age  has  produced,  said:     "But  for  the  weekly  return  of 
the  Sabbath  I  never  could  have  successfully  contended 
with  the  promptings  to  evil  within  me." 

5.  The  Hebreivs  observed  the  Sabbath  in  Egypt  be- 
fore the  exodus.     When  Moses  came  down  to  lead  the 

people  out  to  the  promised  land  he  found  them  neg- 
lecting the  worship  of  God  and  practicing  the  abomi- 
nations of  Egypt.  He  immediately  inaugurated  a  re- 
vival of  religion.  And  the  first  step  was  to  call  them 
to  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath.  That  is  the  first 
step  in  a  true  revival.  This  enraged  Pharaoh,  and 
hence  his  wrathful  words:  "Wherefore  do  ye,  Moses 


SABBATH  REFORM.  .      117 

and  Aaron,  let  the  people  from  their  work?  Behold 
they  are  many  and  ye  make  them  rest  (Sabbatize)  from 
their  burdens."  Just  as  if  a  reformer  would  come  to 
Cincinnati  and  call  the  street  car  drivers  and  conductors 
to  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  and  the  companies 
would  come  down  in  wrath  upon  him  and  say:  "Look 
here,  my  friend,  why  do  you  interfere  with  our  legiti- 
mate business  on  the  Sabbath?  Why  do  you  call  our 
men  away  from  'their  post  of  duty  on  that  day?"  Yes, 
legitimate  business!  Talk  about  it  being  legitimate  to 
break  the  fourth  commandment!  Post  of  duty!  Talk 
about  it  being  their  duty  to  disobey  God's  law! 

6.  After  the  Israelites  had  entered  the  wilderness  y 
and  three  months  before  the  giving  of  the  law,  the  Sab- 
bath is  referred  to  as  aft  institution  with  which  they  are 
all  familiar.  In  connection  with  the  giving  of  the 
manna  we  read,  in  the  sixteenth  chapter  of  Exodus, 
that  "on  the  sixth  day  the  people  gathered  twice  as 
much.  And  the  elders  went  and  told  Moses.  And 
Moses  said,  this  is  that  which  the  Lord  hath  com- 
manded, Bake  that  ye  will  bake  and  seethe  that  ye  will 
seethe  to-day,  for  to-morrow  is  the  Sabbath."  It  is 
evident  that  God  gave  the  people  no  special  command 
respecting  gathering  twice  as  much  on  the  sixth  day. 
He  left  them  to  themselves,  to  prove  them,  and  see  if 
they  would  prepare  for  the  Sabbath  of  their  own  mo- 
tion. It  is  also  evident  that  the  elders  went  to  Moses 
because  the  people  had  violated  a  special  order  not  to 
gather  more  than  one  omer  for  each  person  on  one 
day.  It  is  furthermore  evident  that  the  people  recog- 
nized the  Sabbath  as  a  moral  ordinance,  of  superior 


118  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

obligation  to  the  special  order  respecting  the  gathering 
of  the  manna,  and  when  the  two  came  in  conflict  they 
honored  the  Sabbath  in  the  breach  of  the  special  order. 

7.  The   word   Remember    in    the   beginning   of  the 
fourth  commandment  indicates  its  moral  character.     It 
is  as  if  God    had  said:       "I  call  your  attention  to  a 
world-old    and    world-wide  institution,   an    institution 
with  which  you  are  all  familiar,  which  has  been   ob- 
served   by    your    fathers    and    fathers'    fathers,   which 
formed   God's  seventh  day  and   man's   first   day  upon 
earth,  'Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy.' " 

8.  The  place  it  occupies  in  the  decalogue  indicates  that 
it  is  a   moral  ordinance.     Three  classes  of  law  were 
given  to  Israel  at  Sinai — the  judicial,  the  ceremonial, 
and    the    moral.      The   judicial    and    ceremonial  were 
given  to  Moses,  and   he  conveyed  them   privately  to 
the    people.     But   the   moral   had    two   distinguishing 
marks,  viz.:     God  proclaimed  them  with  his  own  voice 
out  of  the  midst  of  the  flame  and  smoke  of  the  quaking 
mountain,  to  indicate  their  majesty  and  authority,  and 
he  wrote  them  with  his  own  finger  on  two  tables  of 
stone   to  indicate  their  perpetuity.     Every  precept  is 
founded  on  the  eternal  distinctions  of  right  and  wrong, 
distinctions  strong  and  irreversible  as  the  granite  bases 
of  the   mountain   from  which   they  were   proclaimed. 
But  the  Sabbath  is  found  in  the  very  heart  of  the  dec- 
alogue.   It  is  the  key  stone  of  the  moral  arch,  and  with 
it   the  whole  law  stands   or  falls.     It  was   a   crime  to 
steal  or  kill  or  lie  from  the  beginning,  and  it  will  be  to 
the  end.     God  only  announced  and  recorded  the  fact 
at  Sinai.     So  it  was  man's  duty  to  keep  the  Sabbath 


SABBA  TH  REFORM.  .     119 

from  the  first,  and  it  will  be  to  the  last.     God  solemnly 
announced  and  recorded  the  fact  at  Sinai. 

9.  The  Savior  recognized  the  Sabbath  while  on  earth. 
He  came  not  to  abolish,  but  to  establish  the  law;  not 
to  destroy,  but  to  fulfill  it.  On  three  occasions  the 
Jews  charged  him  with  breaking  the  Sabbath,  but  he 
proved  by  Old  Testament  examples  that  his  conduct 
was  no  breach  of  the  Sabbath.  Christ  and  his  disci- 
ples went  through  the  wheat  field  on  Sabbath;  the 
disciples  plucked  the  heads  of  wheat,  rubbed  them  in 
their  hands,  blew  away  the  chafT,  and  ate.  The  Phari- 
sees say:  "Your  disciples  are  breaking  the  Sabbath 
by  doing  unnecessary  work."  But  Christ  replied: 
"Do  you  not  remember  how  David,  in  the  days  of 
Abiather,  the  High  Priest,  went  into  the  holy  place 
on  the  Sabbath  and  ate  the  show-bread,  which  is  not 
lawful  for  any  but  the  priests  to  eat,  and  gave  to  his 
followers,  and  they  did  eat?  Now  if  David,  your 
hero,  your  saint,  your  model,  could  do  that  in  case  of 
necessity  and  be  blameless,  shall  I  be  chargeable  be- 
cause my  disciples  satisfy  their  hunger?  The  priests 
in  the  temple  spend  the  Sabbath  in  killing  sacrifices 
and  burning  incense,  and  are  blameless.  And  shall 
the  Lord  of  the  temple  be  chargeable  for  doing  neces- 
sary work  on  Sabbath?"  Again  Christ  said  to  the  par- 
alytic who  had  kept  his  bed  38  years,  "Rise,  take  up 
your  bed  and  walk."  And  it  was  the  Sabbath.  The 
Jews  say:  "It  is  not  lawful  for  thee  to  carry  thy  bed 
on  Sabbath,  for  the  prophet  says,  'Thou  shalt  bear  no 
burden  on  Sabbath.'  "  "Yes,"  says  the  Savior,  and  I 
suppose  he  said  it  with  ineffable  scorn,  "The  prophet 


120  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

does  say  that,  but  he  does  not  mean  to  forbid  this  poor 
man  carrying  his  pallet,  the  only  bed  he  has  in  the 
world,  but  he  means  to  forbid  you  avaricious  Jews 
compelling  your  hirelings  to  work  on  Sabbath  that 
your  gains  may  be  increased."  And  if  he  were  here 
to-day  he  would  say:  "It  means  to  forbid  these  rail- 
road corporations  compelling  their  employes  to  work 
on  Sabbath  that  their  coffers  may  be  filled."  Again, 
Christ  loosed  a  daughter  of  Abraham,  whom  Satan 
had  bound  eighteen  years,  on  the  Sabbath.  The  Jews 
found  fault.  Christ  said:  "Which  of  you,  having  an 
ox  or  an  ass,  would  not  loose  him  and  lead  him  to 
water  on  Sabbath?  And  shall  I  be  condemned  for 
loosing  a  daughter  of  Abraham,  whom  Satan  has  bound 
eighteen  years,  on  Sabbath?  Judge  righteous  judg- 
ment. If  ye  had  known  what  that  meaneth,  I  will 
have  mercy  and  not  sacrifice;  you  would  not  have 
condemned  the  guiltless.  For  the  Son  of  Man  is  Lord 
also  of  the  Sabbath  day."  He  swept  away  their  false 
glosses  and  interpretations,  their  endless  traditions  and 
commandments  of  men,  but  left  the  Sabbath  as  the 
moral  ordinance  of  God  standing  in  all  its  original 
glory. 

10.  The  Christian  Sabbath  is  this  original  and  per- 
manent institution.  When  Moses  came  down  from  the 
mount  and  saw  the  golden  calf,  he  dashed  the  tables 
of  the  law  to  pieces.  That  was  to  indicate  that  the 
law,  as  a  covenant  of  works,  had  been  broken.  God 
required  him  to  hew  out  two  other  tables  and  repair  to 
the  Mount.  And  God  reproduced  the  Ten  Command- 
ments with  his  own  finger  upon  these  new  tables. 


SABBATH  REFORM.  -    121 

And  then  he  commanded  Moses  to  carry  them  down 
and  place  them  in  the  arlr,  beneath  the  mercy  seat,  "as 
a  rule  of  life  in  the  hands  of  the  mediator."  Christ  is 
the  mediator.  The  Ten  Commandments  are  in  his 
hands  as  our  rule  of  life.  We  are  under  this  law  to 
Christ.  And  as  the  administrator  of  the  fourth  com- 
mandment he  changed  the  day  from  the  seventh  to  the 
first  day  of  the  week  on  the  morning  of  his  resurrec- 
tion. 

In  proof  of  this,  note:  a.  Provision  was  made  for 
the  change  in  the  original  institution.  Nature  demands 
one-seventh  part  of  time  for  rest;  this  is  moral  natural. 
Nature  would  be  unhinged  if  the  sixth  or  the  tenth 
day  were  substituted.  But  nature  is  not  disturbed  in 
changing  from  the  seventh  to  the  first  day  of  the  week. 
The  particular  day  in  the  order  depends  upon  the 
appointment  of  God,  and  is,  therefore,  moral  positive. 
In  the  beginning  the  Creator,  by  precept  and  exam- 
ple, appropriated  the  seventh  day  as  a  memorial  of 
creation.  After  the  exodus  of  Israel  from  Egypt  he 
incorporated  it  with  the  political  and  typical  institu- 
tions of  this  holy  nation,  lifting  it  to  the  higher  use  of 
memorializing  their  deliverance  and  the  giving  of  the 
manna.  After  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  it  was  lifted 
still  higher  in  being  made  a  memorial  of  his  perfected 
work.  This  did  not  alter  the  original  institution.  The 
Christian  Sabbath  has  all  the  advantages  of  the  Old 
Testament  Sabbath,  with  the  super-added  advantages 
of  the  New.  It  comes  every  seventh  day,  reminding 
us  of  creation,  and  that  seventh  day  recurs  on  the  first 
day  of  the  week,  reminding  us  of  redemption,  b.  The 


122  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

change  was  predicted:  "And  when  these  days  are  ex- 
pired it  shall  be  that  upon  the  eighth  day  and  so  for- 
ward, the  priest  shall  make  your  burnt  offerings  upon 
the  altar;  and  I  will  accept  you,  saith  the  Lord." 
Ezek.  43:  27.  This  language  is  symbolical.  It  is 
taken  from  the  temple  service,  but  it  is  a  prophecy. 
It  pertains  to  these  New  Testament  times,  and  their 
eighth  day  is  our  first  day.  c.  The  prime  argument  is 
found  in  Hebrews,  4:  10,  just  where  we  would  expect 
to  find  it,  in  a  book  written  to  persuade  the  Jews  to 
put  away  the  old  and  receive  the  new  economy.  The 
argument  is  this:  As  God  created  the  world  in  six 
days  and  rested  the  seventh,  and  set  that  apart  as  a 
memorial  of  creation,  so  Christ  finished  redemption 
work  on  the  morning  of  the  first  day,  in  his  resurrec- 
tion, and  set  that  apart  as  a  memorial  of  his  greater 
work.  "For  he  that  is  entered  into  rest,  he  also  hath 
ceased  from  his  own  works  as  God  did  from  his."  The 
argument  is  unique.  The  author  quotes  the  95th 
Psalm,  where  a  promise  is  made  of  "entering  into 
rest."  He  insists  that  David,  there,  could  not  refer  to 
the  seventh-day  rest,  for  they  had  that  from  the  begin- 
ning. He  could  not  refer  to  Canaan,  for  they  had  en- 
joyed that  for  four  hundred  years,  and  "yet  he  limiteth 
another  day."  He  could  not  refer  to  heaven,  for 
Moses,  Aaron  and  thousands  of  Israel,  falling  in  the 
wilderness,  went  to  heaven,  and  yet  "God  swore  in  his 
wrath  that  they  should  not  enter  into  this  rest."  There 
is  only  one  other  rest  that  David  could  refer  to,  and 
that  is  the  Christian  Sabbath.  "There  remaineth 
therefore  a  rest,  a  keeping  of  Sabbath,  to  the  people 


SABBA  TH  REFORM.  *  123 

of  God."  This  interpretation  is  sustained  by  Francis 
Turetin,  John  Owens  and  others,  d.  The  example  of 
Christ  and  his  disciples.  On  five  different  occasions 
Christ  appeared  to  his  disciples  on  the  day  he  arose, 
and,  disappearing  during  the  interval,  he  reappeared 
on  the  following  first  day  of  the  week.  On  the  first 
day  of  the  week  Christ  breathed  on  his  disciples,  say- 
ing: "Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost."  On  the  first  day 
he  poured  out  the  spirit  in  Pentecost.  A  day  that  has 
been  honored  by  these  signal  revelations  of  the  second 
and  third  persons  of  the  Trinity  is  holy.  On  that  day 
the  disciples  met  to  break  bread  and  preach  the  gospel. 
On  that  day  the  Corinthian  and  Galatian  Christians 
made  their  offerings  to  God.  And  last,  but  not  least, 
on  that  day  the  Apostle  John,  banished  to  the  Isle  of 
Patmos,  for  the  word  of  God  and  the  testimony  of 
Jesus,  saw  the  future  history  of  the  church  pass  in  pan- 
oramic review  before  him,  while  an  angel  stood  by  and 
interpreted  the  vision.  "I  was  in  the  spirit  on  the 
Lord's  day."  e.  The  fact  that  God  has  honored  the 
Christian  Sabbath  through  all  the  Christian  Centuries, 
by  pouring  out  his  spirit  upon  his  people  as  they  as- 
semble for  his  worship  on  that  day,  indicates  that  the 
seal  of  God  is  upon  it.  "This  is  the  day  the  Lord 
hath  made."  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  an  institu- 
tion ordained  by  the  Creator  in  the  beginning,  re-en- 
acted at  Sinai  with  added  obligations,  and  re-enacted 
again  by  the  Son  of  God,  on  the  morning  of  his  resur- 
rection, with  added  obligations  and  responsibilities,  is 
the  same  original  and  absolutely  universal  and  per- 
manent institution,  in  spite  of  the  mere  change  of  day. 


124  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 


II.       TESTIMONY    FROM    EXPERIENCE. 

Here  we  specify  the  physical,  mental  and  moral  rea- 
sons for  Sabbath  rest.  A  locomotive  will  last  longer 
and  do  better  work  by  lying  at  rest  one  day  in  seven. 
The  horses  in  the  Illinois  coal  mines  are  brought  .out 
every  Sabbath  into  the  open  field  to  keep  them  from 
going  blind,  as  well  as  for  recuperation.  Proudhon, 
the  French  Socialist,  will  not  be  suspected  of  being  a 
biased  witness:  He  says:  "Diminish  the  week  by 
one  day  and  you  have  not  enough  work  to  justify  a 
rest  day.  Increase  the  week  by  one  day  and  labor 
becomes  excessive.  Divide  the  week  and  give  man  a 
half  holiday  every  three  days,  and  you  increase  the 
loss  of  time  by  multiplying  the  divisions  of  time  and 
dividing  the  natural  unit  of  the  week.  Give  man  forty- 
eight  hours'  rest  after  twelve  days'  work  and  you  kill 
him  by  inertia  after  bruising  him  by  fatigue. " 

Could  anything  be  more  conclusive?  And  yet  this 
is  the  testimony  of  an  enemy  of  Christianity. 

I.  The  Sabbath  is  a  physical  necessity,  a.  The 
need  of  rest  and  repose.  We  need  the  rest  of  sleep. 
Man  can  do  without  food  and  water  longer  than  with- 
out sleep.  The  poet  calls  it  "tired  nature's  sweet  re- 
storer," "nature's  second  course,"  "it  knits  up  the  rav- 
eled sleeve  of  care,"  etc.  But  in  addition  we  need  one- 
seventh  part  of  time  for  rest.  Six  hundred  and  forty- 
one  physicians  in  London,  including  Dr.  Farre,  signed 
a  petition  to  the  English  Parliament  against  opening 
Crystal  Palace  on  Sabbath,  in  which  this  sentence 
occurs:  "We  know,  as  medical  men,  that  one  day  in 


SABBA  TH  REFORM.  *125 

seven  for  rest  is  a  necessity  to  restore  the  physical 
equilibrium  which  has  been  disturbed  by  six  days' 
work."  The  proprietor  of  one  hundred  and  ten  vehi- 
cles in  Clonmell,  Ireland,  gave  this  testimony  before 
the  Sabbath  Committee  of  Parliament:  "I  run  none 
of  my  cars  on  Sabbath  except  those  which  carry  the 
mail;  for  I  find  that  1  can  drive  my  horses  eight  miles 
an  hour  six  days  in  the  week  to  better  purpose  than 
six  miles  an  hour  seven  days  in  the  week;  and  by  the 
former  method  there  is  a  saving  of  thirteen  per  cent. 
I  am  persuaded,"  he  added  in  conclusion,  "man  cannot 
be  wiser  than  his  Maker."  The  proprietor  of  a  work 
where  two  thousand  men  were  engaged  determined 
that  he  would  hasten  matters  by  working  seven  days 
in  the  week.  To  make  the  men  satisfied  with  giving 
up  their  inalienable  right  to  a  rest  day,  he  offered 
them  double  wages  on  Sabbath — eight  days'  wages  for 
seven  days'  work.  But  things  went  badly.  The  teams 
grew  poor  and  sickly.  The  men  became  demoralized, 
and  he  was  compelled  to  change  his  course.  So  he 
announced  that  six  days'  wages  would  be  given  for  six 
days'  work,  and  they  would  rest  on  the  Sabbath.  In 
a  given  length  of  time  more  work  was  done  by  the 
second  method,  the  teams  were  more  healthy,  the  men 
more  orderly,  and  a  new  life  was  infused  through  every 
department.  "Man  cannot  be  wiser  than  his  Maker." 
The  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western  Railroad  ran 
no  trains  on  Sabbath  until  recently.  And  their  Gen- 
eral Manager  gave  this  testimony.  "I  find  that  giving 
our  men  one  day  in  seven  for  rest  improves  the  service. 
And  with  an  improved  service  I  can  do  as  much  trans- 


126  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

porting  in  one  hundred  and  forty-four  hours  as  other- 
wise I  could  do  in  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight."  Two 
men  smarted  from  Ohio  for  Kansas,  driving  through  in 
wagons  with  their  families.  One  was  a  Christian  and 
the  other  a  worldly  family.  When  Saturday  night 
came  the  first  pitched  their  tents  and  rested  on  Sab- 
bath, the  second  continued  their  journey.  When  the 
Christian  family  arrived  at  their  destination  they  were 
two  weeks  in  advance  of  the  worldly  family.  Years 
after  France  had  abolished  the  Sabbath,  a  traveler 
said:  "I  saw  no  old  farmers,  no  old  mechanics,  no 
old  merchants.  They  all  died  young."  The  penalty 
for  breaking  the  Sabbath.  God  has  decreed  it.  Man 
must  have  the  rest  of  God.  b.  The  need  of  cleanliness. 
The  divers  washing  required  of  the  Jews  were  not 
without  their  physical  necessity.  The  washings  and 
scourings,  and  scrubbings,  and  bathings,  and  the  fine 
linen,  clean  and  white,  which  are  always  the  prelude 
or  accompaniment  of  the  Sabbath,  have  their  ground 
and  necessity  in  man's  physical  well-being.  The  French 
nation  abolished  the  Sabbath.  And  a  student  of  their 
history  says  their  young  men  toiling  in  the  factories 
seven  days  in  the  week,  in  their  dirty  overalls,  by  and 
by  became  averse  to  a  change  of  linen,  and  their  filthy 
physical  habits  were  accompanied  with  a  degradation 
of  their  morals. 

2.  The  mental.  The  mind  must  have  rest,  not  by 
inaction,  for  that  is  no  rest  to  the  mind,  as  every  stu- 
dent knows,  but  by  a  change  of  subjects.  On  Sabbath 
we  exchange  worldly  for  religious  subjects  of  thought, 
and  thus  the  mind  is  rested.  A  merchant  in  Indian- 


SABBA  TH  REFORM. 


127 


apolis  spent  his  Sabbath  balancing  his  accounts.  He 
had  not  time  for  this  during  the  week,  he  said.  For 
the  past  three  years  he  ha$  found  time  to  be  in  the 
Insane  Asylum.  The  man  who  keeps  his  mind  fas- 
tened on  one  subject  seven  days  in  the  week  continu- 
ously is  on  the  high  road  to  insanity.  Burke  said: 
"The  student  who  toils  incessantly  can  have  no  relia- 
ble judgment;  he  exhausts  his  attention,  burns  out  his 
lamp,  and  is  left  in  the  dark."  Dr.  Taylor  says:  "To 
the  mere  student  a  Sabbath  well  spent,  spent  in  the 
happy  exercises  of  individual,  domestic  and  public 
worship,  is  the  best  possible  cordial  for  the  intellect." 
3.  The  moral.  A  judge  in  Ireland,  passing  sentence 
of  death  on  two  fisherman,  said:  "No  class  of  men  in 
Ireland  are  so  degraded  as  the  fishermen.  They  have 
no  Sabbath  and  are  without  God  and  without  hope  in 
the  world."  It  is  said  that  no  class  of  men  are  so  fre- 
quently before  the  magistrates  as  the  London  cabmen, 
who  toil  from  fourteen  to  sixteen  hours  a  day,  seven 
days  in  the  week.  Hogarth  is  true  to  nature  when  he 
represents  the  man  who  ended  his  career  on  the  gal- 
lows, beginning  his  downward  course  by  playing  cards 
on  a  tombstone  in  a  church-yard  on  Sabbath  day  dur- 
ing divine  service.  Criminals  generally  confess  on  the 
scaffold  that  they  began  their  downward  course  by 
breaking  the  Lord's  day.  France  abolished  the  Sab- 
bath and  adopted  every  tenth  day  as  an  holiday.  In- 
fanticides and  matricides  multiplied,  husbands  mur- 
dered their  wives,  wives  murdered  their  husbands,  and 
Abbe  Gregoir  exclaimed:  "This  law  will  ruin  our 
nation!"  Here  in  Cincinnati  the  bell-punch  is  hung 


128  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

around  the  necks  of  many  of  the  street-car  conductors. 
Do  you  know  why?  Every  time  that  bell-punch  comes 
down  it  sounds  out  tliief.  These  companies  under- 
stand that  a  man  who  habitually  breaks  the  fourth 
commandment  cannot  be  trusted  with  the  eighth  com- 
mandment. They  compel  him  to  break  the  fourth 
commandment,  and  then  they  hang  the  badge  of  thief 
about  his  neck.  This  is  an  outrage  upon  our  Christian 
civilization. 

When  the  directors  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  & 
Western  Railroad  determined  to  run  their  trains  on  the 
Sabbath,  their  president,  the  Hon.  Wm.  E.  Dodge, 
protested.  In  his  protest,  he  said:  "You  compel  your 
men  to  break  the  fourth  commandment  and  then  you 
need  not  be  surprised  if  they  go  on  and  break  the 
eighth,  and  destroy  your  property."  They  disregarded 
his  protest  and  he  resigned.  In  Prussia,  fifty-seven 
per  cent,  of  the  men  engaged  in  factories,  and  seventy- 
seven  per  cent,  of  those  engaged  in  transporting  and 
mercantile  service,  have  no  Sabbath.  (North  American 
Review,  March,  1888.)  In  England  and  America, 
2,500,000  men  are  deprived  of  their  Sabbath  by  the 
railroad  and  postal  service.  The  bondage  of  Israel  in 
Egypt  was  not  a  circumstance  compared  to  this. 
Pharaoh  was  not  such  a  cruel  taskmaster  as  the  gov- 
ernments and  corporations  that  deprive  these  men  of 
their  divinely  appointed  rest.  It  is  said  that  450  loco- 
motive engineers  on  the  New  York  Central  Railroad 
petitioned  for  their  Sabbath  rest  on  the  ground  of  con- 
science. Their  petition  was  rejected,  and  they  were 
told  that  they  must  work  on  the  Sabbath  or  lose  their 


SABBA  TH  REFORM. 


129 


positions.  This  is  the  car  of  Juggernaut  crushing  the 
liberties  of  the  free  born.  There  are  in  the  United 
States  2,000,000  unwilling  toilers  every  Lord's  day. 
The  government,  as  the  guardian  of  the  rights  of  the 
people,  should  emancipate  them. 

III.     THE    CIVIL    SABBATH. 

The  State  is  the  keeper  of  the  Civil  Sabbath.  The 
Prophet  Jeremiah  was  required  to  go  and  stand  in  the 
gate  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  and  say  to  the  rulers 
in  the  land,  "Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Ye  shall  bear  no 
burden  on  the  Sabbath  day" — that  is,  you  must  pro- 
hibit common  labor  on  the  Sabbath.  Just  as  if  he 
would  come  to  Cincinnati  and  say  to  Mayor  Mosby, 
"'Every  grocery,  meat  shop  and  bakery,  the  saloons, 
theaters,  and  base  ball  parks,  shall  be  closed,  ice 
wagons  and  street  cars  tied  up,  and  no  Sunday  papers 
issued  on  the  Sabbath."  The  prophet  tells  them 
that  if  they  enforce  this  edict,  God  will  pour  out  his 
blessing  on  the  whole  nation;  but  if  they  disregard  it, 
God  will  kindle  a  fire  in  their  gates,  and  it  shall  con- 
sume their  palaces,  and  it  shall  not  be  quenched.  They 
gave  no  heed  to  this  message,  except  that  they  ar- 
rested Jeremiah  and  threw  him  into  a  foul  prison.  By 
and  by  the  Chaldeans  invaded  their  land,  burned  up 
their  cities  and  villages,  and  carried  the  people  captive 
to  Babylon  and  kept  them  there  as  slaves  seventy 
years.  God  said  the  reason  of  it  was  "that  my  land 
might  have  her  Sabbaths."  After  the  return  from  the 
captivity,  Nehemiah,  who  was  mayor,  chief  of  police 
and  judge  of  the  court,  all  in  one,  saw  some  treading 


130  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

wine-presses,  lading  asses  and  bearing  sheaves  on  the 
Sabbath  day.  He  did  not  go  to  the  people  who  were 
doing  the  work,  but  to  the  civil  officers  who  were  re- 
sponsible for  allowing  it,  and  he  says:  "Then  con- 
tended I  with  the  nobles  in  the  land,  and  I  said  unto 
them,  what  is  this  evil  that  ye  do  in  profaning  the 
Sabbath?  Did  not  our  fathers  thus?  And  did  they 
not  bring  all  this  evil  upon  us?  And  yet  ye  bring 
more  evil  upon  us!"  And  then  he  ordered  the  gates 
of  the  city  to  be  closed  on  the  Sabbath.  They  had 
lawyers  in  those  days,  just  like  we  have  in  these.  The 
business  of  the  lawyer  then  was  much  the  same  as  to- 
day— to  find  a  loop-hole  in  the  law.  They  found  a 
loop-hole  in  Nehemiah's  law.  He  had  not  forbid  trad- 
ing outside  the  walls  on  the  Sabbath;  so  the  merchants 
set  up  their  booths  outside  the  walls  and  began  selling 
their  wares  on  the  Sabbath.  Perhaps  they  held  indig- 
nation meetings  out  there,  and  no  doubt  they  were 
loud  in  denouncing  Nehemiah's  puritanic  laws,  and  his 
interfering  with  their  personal  liberties.  If  an  election 
for  mayor  had  been  held  on  the  heels  of  those  meet- 
ings, Nehemiah  would  have  lost  the  vote  and  failed  of 
re-election.  But  Nehemiah  cared  for  none  of  those 
things.  He  believed  in  enforcing  the  law,  and  so  he 
said:  "Then  I  ascended  the  wall,  and  I  said  to  them, 
Why  lodge  ye  about  the  wall  on  the  Sabbath  day?  If 
you  do  so  again  I  will  lay  hands  on  you;"  that  is,  I 
will  arrest  and  punish  you.  The  reform  was  effectual; 
the  merchants  and  sellers  "bowed  to  the  law."  "From 
that  time  forth  they  came  no  more  on  the  Sabbath." 
This  whole  narrative  indicates  this:  that  the  respon- 


SABBATH  REFORM.  'm         131 

sibility  for  public  Sabbath  desecration  lies  with  the 
government.  Hence  the  government  should  lay  the 
strong  hand  of  the  law  on  these  railroad  and  street-car 
corporations,  and  say:  "Your  wheels  shall  not  roll  on 
the  Sabbath,  depriving  hundreds  of  thousands  of  their 
rest-day  on  pain  of  losing  their  position."  It  should 
say  to  the  press  companies:  "Your  Sunday  newspa- 
pers shall  not  circulate,  scattering  broadcast  the  virus 
of  secularity."  It  should  say  to  these  gentlemen  who 
run  the  saloons,  theaters,  beer  gardens,  and  base-ball 
parks  on  the  Sabbath:  "Your  doors  and  gates  shall 
be  closed  on  the  Sabbath  day  "  Yes,  and  every  other 
day,  too;  for  we  could  get  along  without  those  insti- 
tutions seven  days  in  the  week,  and  prosper. 

At  La  Crosse,  Wis.,  they  tried  the  experiment  of 
prohibiting  common  labor  on  the  Sabbath,  but  allow- 
ing public  amusements,  so  the  theaters  were  opened. 
The  saloon  men  said:  "Our  business  affords  gratifica- 
tions, and  so  is  a  kind  of  amusement;  we  will  open 
on  the  Sabbath."  The  base-ball  parks  followed.  The 
boot  and  shoe  men  said:  "If  these  citizens  are  allowed 
to  make  money  on  the  Sabbath,  we  will  also."  So  it 
proved  that  the  exception  in-  the  law  was  a  break  in 
the  dike,  and  soon  the  whole  ocean  of  Sabbath  dese- 
crating was  upon  them.  Either  all  amusements  must 
be  prohibited  on  the  Sabbath  or  all  be  allowed;  either 
all  common  labor  must  be  prohibited  or  all  be  allowed. 
For  years  the  State  of  Louisiana  had  no  Sabbath  law. 
As  one  result,  the  city  of  New  Orleans  became  a  by- 
word to  the  whole  nation,  and  under  the  influence  of 
that  pressure  the  Legislature  passed  a  Sabbath  law  in 


132  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

1886.  California  is  the  only  State  without  a  Sabbath 
law.  In  1858  Judge  Terry,  who  was  recently  slain, 
decided  that  their  Sabbath  laws  were  unconstitutional 
because  they  discriminated  in  favor  of  Christianity  and 
so  against  those  that  were  not  Christian.  On  that  ac- 
count they  were  unconstitutional.  The  Legislature  of 
Connecticut  passed  a  law  that  no  unnecessary  trains 
should  run  on  the  Sabbath.  Ten  thousand  railroad 
men  were  emancipated  from  Sabbath  toil  the  first 
week.  There  were  two  strange  exceptions  to  the  law — 
milk  trains  and  Sunday  newspaper  trains,  supposing, 
as  Dr.  Crafts  suggests,  that  the  babies  must  have  their 
milk  and  the  men  their  scandals  on  the  Sabbath.  But 
the  trains  carrying  the  United  States  mails  ran  through 
the  State  on  Sabbath,  and  they  were  powerless  to  pre- 
vent it.  They  could  not  control  the  Sabbath  breaking 
on  the  part  of  Uncle  Sam.  We  should  have  a  national 
Sabbath  law,  making  it  unlawful  for  Congress  to  hold 
sessions  on  the  Sabbath;  making  it  unlawful  to  carry 
the  United  States  mail  on  the  Sabbath;  making  it  un- 
lawful to  open  post-offices  in  cities  and  villages  certain 
hours  on  the  Sabbath,  offering  an  open  insult  to  the 
God  of  the  Sabbath,  and-  setting  a  flagrant  example 
for  evil  before  this  people. 

In  1828  Congress  passed  a  law  requiring  the  United 
States  mail  to  be  carried  on  the  Sabbath.  There  went 
up  four  hundred  and  sixty-seven  petitions  from  twenty- 
one  States  against  the  order.*  When  these  were  pre- 
sented to  the  Postmaster-General  he  replied,  as  Dr. 
Crafts  says,  in  language  combining  the  Russian  auto- 
crat and  the  Western  orator,  "As  long  as  the  silver 


SABBA  TH  REFORM.  _          133 

rivers  flow  and  the  green  grass  grows,  and  the  oceanic 
tides  rise  and  fall  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  so  long 
the  United  States  mail  shall  circulate  on  that  day." 
And  so  it  has  come  to  pass,  the  fourth  commandment 
to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  Postmaster-General 
Jewell  was  a  Christian  man.  He  supposed  that  he  was 
yielding  to  a  public  necessity  when  he  ordered  the 
mail  to  be  distributed  in  New  York  City  on  the  Sab- 
bath. To  show  the  barbarity  of  the  order,  the  mail- 
carriers  kept  the  preachers'  mail  until  church  time,  and 
in  the  midst  of  the  sermon  they  marched  up  to  the 
pulpit  with  it.  Of  course  this  created  great  indigna- 
tion. A  flood  of  petitions  went  down  to  Washington 
against  the  order,  and  before  the  next  Sabbath  it  was 
revoked.  Postmaster-General  Vilas  issued  an  order 
that  all  letters  and  packages  bearing  special-delivery 
stamps  should  be  delivered  on  the  Sabbath.  The 
ministers  of  Philadelphia  met  and  protested.  Dr. 
Edwards  carried  their  protest.  After  Vilas  had  heard 
him  through,  he  replied:  "What  I  have  done  I  have 
done."  Then  an  appeal  was  made  to  the  President, 
and  through  his  intervention  the  order  was  modified  to 
the  effect  that  every  postmaster  shall  do  as  he  pleases. 
The  clerks  in  the  special-delivery  departments  work 
from  7.00  A.  M.  to  I  i.oo  P.  M.  six  days  in  a  week,  and, 
at  the  discretion  of  the  postmaster,  they  may  be  com- 
pelled to  work  those  barbarous  hours  seven  days  in 
the  week. 

Dr.  Crafts  tells  of  a  street-car  line  in  New  York 
called  "the  man-killing  cars."  The  men  were  worked 
seventeen  hours  a  day,  seven  days  in  a  week.  The 


134  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

little  children  of  those  men  did  not  know  their  own 
fathers.  They  left  home  in  the  morning  before  the 
little  ones  were  up,  and  they  returned  late  at  night  after 
they  were  sound  asleep.  This  went  on  seven  days  in 
the  week,  and  so  those  children  did  not  know  their 
fathers.  The  legislature  interfered,  and  the  men  are 
now  worked  twelve  hours  a  day,  seven  days  in  the 
week.  It  is  left  to  the  United  States  postal  service  to 
continue  that  black  art — the  clerks  in  the  special-deliv- 
ery department,  at  the  pleasure  of  the  postmaster, 
being  worked  sixteen  hours  a  day,  seven  days  in  the 
week.  How  long  shall  this  iniquity  be  permitted? 
This  is  a  question  of  human  rights.  In  the  United 
States  2,000,000  men  are  compelled  to  work  on  the 
Sabbath.  Our  government  originated  in  a  struggle 
for  human  rights.  We  passed  through  a  baptism  of 
blood  in  behalf  of  human  rights.  Shall  these  two 
million  be  deprived  of  their  inalienable  right  to  a 
rest-day  and  the  government  not  interfere?  This  ques- 
tion is  up  for  settlement.  It  must  be  settled  right. 
Covetousness  would  compel  men  to  work  twenty-four 
hours  a  day,  seven  days  in  the  week,  if  not  restrained. 
It  is  like  Tennyson's  brook,  "Men  may  come,  and  men 
may  go,  but  I  go  on  forever."  It  must  be  curbed. 

Senator  Blair's  Sabbath- rest  bill,  proposing  to  stop 
the  mail  service  and  arrest  inter-state  commerce-  on 
Sabbath,  is  the  need  of  our  nation.  You  ask:  "Are 
not  freight  trains  a  business  necessity  on  Sabbath?" 
General  Divan,  who  had  been  president  of  the  Erie 
Railroad  for  thirty  years,  testified  before  the  Senate 
Committee  last  December:  "The  transporting  facili- 


SABBATH  REFORM.  135 

ties  of  our  railroads  are  in  advance  of  the  business  de- 
mands of  the  country,  and  they  will  continue  to  be. 
They  can  do  the  work  in  six  days. "  "Perishable  freight 
must  goon  Sabbath."  "The  refrigerator  has  removed 
that  article.  There  is  no  perishable  freight."  "Must 
not  cattle  trains  go?"  "No.  Cattle  men  say  where 
they  have  a  long  haul  it  is  better  for  the  stock  to  stop 
and  unload  and  rest  one  day  in  seven.  And  where 
they  have  a  short  haul  it  is  not  necessary  to  wait  until 
late  Saturday  evening  before  starting."  "Passenger 
trains  running  from  coast  to  coast  could  not  stop."  "A 
train  starting  at  New  York  Monday  morning  can  reach 
San  Francisco  by  Saturday  evening.  For  trains  start- 
ing later  I  would  have  special  hotel  accommodations 
provided  at  three  points,  and  I  would  give  passengers 
free  tickets  for  Sabbath.  I  am  satisfied  no  passenger 
would  complain  of  the  rest,  and  the  company  doing  it 
would  find  it  a  financial  success."  "Well,"  you  say, 
"the  post-office  is  a  business  necessity  on  Sabbath." 
"Yonder  in  Toronto,  Canada,  and  in  London,  England, 
the  post-offices  are  closed  twenty-four  hours  every  Sab- 
bath, and  business  is  not  paralyzed.  If  they  can  do 
without  the  post-office  in  London  on  Sabbath,  we  can 
do  without  it  in  Cincinnati.  "  "The  street  cars  must  go 
to  take  the  people  to  church."  "The  street  cars  gen- 
erally carry  the  people  away  from  church  to  the  pleas- 
ure resorts.  In  Toronto  they  are  tied  up  every  Sab- 
bath, and  in  that  city  of  140,000,  and  scattered  over  a 
wide  territory,  the  people  get  to  church  very  well. 
The  same  can  be  done  in  any  city."  "  Must  the  Sunday 
newspaper  go?"  "The  Sunday  newspaper  is  one  of 


136  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

the  greatest  foes  of  Christianity.  It  is  secularizing  the 
Sabbath.  Joseph  Cook  says,  'The  saloon  and  the 
Sunday  newspaper  are  twin  evils.'  It  is  the  'Trojan 
horse'  that  we  have  admitted  within  the  walls  of  our 
national  citadel,  and  the  question  is,  have  we  strength 
and  courage  enough  to  grapple  with  our  foe?"  It  is 
said,  "The  Sunday  paper  is  made  on  Saturday  and 
Monday's  paper  on  Sabbath."  But  all  know  that  Sat- 
urday's work  would  do  for  Monday  if  the  Sunday  paper 
were  discontinued.  It  is  said,  "The  Sunday  paper 
teaches  morals."  The  New  York  Tribtme^on.  Sabbath, 
December  5,  1888,  had  eighty-one  columns  devoted 
to  business,  politics  and  gossip,  and  one-fourth  of  a 
column  to  religion.  The  New  York  World  had  one 
hundred  and  ten  columns  devoted  to  business,  politics 
and  gossip,  and  one-eighth  of  a  column  devoted  to  re- 
ligion. These  were  average  Sunday  papers,  and  the 
small  space  devoted  to  religion  was  generally  used 
against  Christianity.  The  Sunday  paper  is  quietly  riv- 
eting the  shackles  upon  us.  We  must  free  ourselves 
at  once,  or  it  will  be  too  late.  That  which  has  so  long 
been  regarded  as  a  necessity  on  Sabbath  is  found  to  be 
no  necessity. 

IV.       THE    RELIGIOUS    SABBATH. 

Here  we  deal  only  with  conscience  and  the  word  of 
God.  Specific  directions  have  been  given  both  nega- 
tive and  positive,  a.  What  is  forbidden.  "In  it  thou 
shalt  do  no  work."  That  would  close  up  every  gro- 
cery, meat  shop  and  bakery;  tie  up  the  ice  and  milk 
wagons,  and  make  God's  people  fear  to  patronize  them 
if  running.  During  our  pastorate  in  this  city  a  China- 


SABBA  Tff  REFORM.  -    137 

man  was  received  into  the  church.  In  his  examination 
before  the  session  we  asked  him  this  question:  "Will 
you  promise  to  keep  the  Sabbath?"  He  hung  his 
head  for  some  moments,  and  then  looking  up  with  a 
smile  he  said:  "That  question  almost  takes  my  breath. 
I  have  a  wife  and  two  children  and  an  old  father  and 
mother  in  China.  They  depend  on  me  for  support. 
If  I  close  my  laundry  on  the  Sabbath  I  lose  custom." 
"You  have  acknowledged  Christ  as  your  divine  Savior. 
Are  you  not  willing  to  trust  him?"  "Yes,  I  am  willing 
to  trust  Christ.  But  church  members  bring  their  clothes 
to  me  on  Sabbath  and  come  for  their  laundry.  If  there 
is  no  harm  in  their  doing  that,  what  harm  is  there  in 
my  waiting  upon  them?"  "We  are  to  obey  Christ,  no 
matter  whether  others  do  or  not.  Why  not  do  this: 
Tell  your  customers  that  you  are  going  to  close  on 
Sabbath.  On  Saturday  prepare  a  placard  and  put  it  on 
your  door,  'Closed  for  Sabbath/  and  come  to  church." 
"I  will  try  that."  And  so  he  did.  A  few  weeks  later 
he  said:  "I  am  glad  you  advised  me  to  close.  My 
customers  told  me  I  was  doing  right  and  they  would 
stand  by  me.  I  have  more  trade  than  before  and  my 
Sabbath  rest  besides."  Here  is  an  heathen  convert 
teaching  American  Christians  an  object  lesson  in  Sab- 
bath keeping.  O,  that  it  may  find  its  way  to  the  hearts 
and  consciences  of  all.  A  minister  in  New  York 
preached  against  the  Sunday  newspaper.  Some  of  his 
men  came  forward  and  shaking  their  papers  said: 
"We  will  continue  reading  our  Sunday  papers  and  you 
cannot  help  it."  And  in  six  months  they  made  it  so 
hot  for  him  that  he  was  compelled  to  resign.  It  is  all 


138  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

a  minister's  position  is  worth  in  some  places  to  bear  a 
faithful  testimony  against  Sabbath-breaking.  A  street- 
car driver  was  asked:  "Why  do  you  work  on  Sab- 
bath?" "If  I  refuse  I  am  discharged.  That  means 
suffering  in  my  home."  "You  work  on  Sabbath  to 
support  your  family!  Why  not  steal?  That  is  only  a 
breach  of  the  eighth  commandment,  and  the  eighth  is 
no  more  sacred  in  God's  sight  than  the  fourth."  I  tell 
you,  brethren,  we  need  more  conscience. 

"Nor  thy  man-servant."  A  man's  employe  has  as 
much  right  to  the  Sabbath  as  the  man  himself.  The 
employer  may  go  to  church  and  observe  the  day  per- 
sonally, but  if  another  is  working  for  him  he  has  broken 
the  commandment.  I  talked  with  a  street-car  driver 
in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church.  They  called  him  before  the  session  for 
working  on  Sabbath.  He  insisted  that  it  was  neces- 
sary. They  suggested  that  he  get  a  substitute  for 
Sabbath.  "O,  no,"  he  said,  "that  would  not  be  hon- 
orable. I  would  rather  do  the  work  myself."  When 
they  pressed  that  proposition  he  turned  to  one  of  the 

elders  and  said:     "Mr.  S -,  you  are  a  member  of 

that  corporation.  You  hired  me  to  do  that  work.  And 
only  yesterday  you  told  me  the  work  must  be  done. 
And  now  you  are  sitting  in  judgment  and  condemning 
me  for  doing  your  work,  the  benefits  of  which  you  are 
pocketing.  I  cannot,"  he  added,  "find  language  strong 
enough  to  express  my  indignation  at  such  hypocrisy 
as  that."  Do  you  not  find  in  your  heart  of  hearts  a 
response  to  that  roughly  expressed  indignation  on  the 
the  part  of  this  poor  workman?  There  is  a  corpora- 


SABBA  TH  REFORM.  139 

tion  in  this  city  working  about  forty  men  seven  days 
in  the  week.  Working  continuously  puts  a  period  on 
their  lives.  They  are  shortened  by  one-seventh. 
Breaking  God's  law  hardens  their  hearts  and  seals  their 
perdition.  The  head  and  a  part  of  the  body  of  that 
•corporation  is  a  member  of  the  church.  Of  course 
these  men  are  personally  guilty  for  consenting  to  work 
on  Sabbath.  But  they  are  only  agents.  The  company 
is  the  principal.  And  the  church,  by  her  silence,  says 
to  the  member  who  is  President  and  a  heavy  stock- 
holder, "There  is  no  harm  in  it."  Is  the  church's  con- 
science dead,  or  only  asleep?  Will  she  cut  her  own 
jugular  vein? 

A  brother  said:  "I  am  a  stockholder  in  a  street-car 
•company.  I  know  it  is  wrong  to  compel  the  workmen 
to  labor  on  Sabbath.  It  is  an  injury  to  their  body  and 
soul;  it  wrongs  their  families  and  dishonors  God.  But 
I  do  not  believe  you  can  ever  stop  the  running  of  street 
cars  on  the  Sabbath.  Christians  generally  use  them. 
And  the  stockholders  are  no  more  blameable  than  soci- 
ety which  justifies  them."  Brother,  remember  you  are 
forbidden  "to  go  with  the  multitude  to  do  evil."  There 
are  a  few  who  do  not  use  your  cars.  You  shut  your 
«ars  against  their  protest.  For  the  sake  of  gain  you 
destroy  your  workmen,  body  and  soul,  for  time  and 
eternity.  God  will  surely  require  their  blood  at  your 
hands.  Another  adds:  "The  money  you  loan  draws 
interest  on  Sabbath.  The  farmer's  corn  grows  on 
Sabbath.  And  my  street  cars  have  a  right  to  run  on 
that  day."  If  that  proves  anything  it  proves  that  all 
kinds  of  work  may  go  on  during  the  Lord's  day.  If 


140  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

street-car  companies  have  a  right  to  do  business  for 
gain  on  the  Sabbath,  then  the  farmer  has  a  right  to 
plow,  the  merchant  to  sell  goods,  and  the  iron  manu- 
facturer to  run  his  works.  If  the  command  "in  it  thou 
shalt  do  no  work"  be  applicable  at  all,  it  is  applicable 
all  through.  Any  church  court  would  discipline  a  poor 
woman  for  selling  good  books  on  the  Sabbath.  That 
is  secular  work.  But  rich  men  may  run  their  street 
cars  on  that  day  and  pocket  the  money  and  nothing  is 
done  about  it.  "Surely  the  legs  of  the  lame  are  not 
equal."  Before  the  war  slaveholders  built  up  gigantic 
fortunes.  But  during  the  rebellion  those  fortunes  were 
wrecked.  They  were  the  price  of  blood.  These 
street-car  companies  are  gathering  fortunes.  But  it  is 
at  the  cost  of  the  bodies  and  souls  of  their  workmen. 
God  will  surely  visit  them  for  these  things.  "Woe  to 
him  that  buildeth  his  house  by  unrighteousness  and 
his  chambers  by  wrong." 

The  following  conversation  was  overheard  between 
an  elder  in  the  church  and  an  unbeliever:  "I  under- 
stand, Mr.  Jones,  that  you  had  Will  Smith  before  the 
session  on  the  charge  of  breaking  the  Sabbath.  Did 
you  deprive  him  of  his  privileges?"  "Yes.  We  could 
do  nothing  else.  He  would  not  hear  to  getting  a  sub- 
stitute on  the  Sabbath.  He  said  there  was  no  more 
harm  in  his  driving  the  street  car  on  the  Sabbath  than 
in  employing  another  to  take  his  place.  He  thought 
it  would  be  dishonorable  to  ask  some  one  else  to  do 
for  him  what  he  would  not  do  himself.  He  was  very 
obstinate.  He  would  not  listen  to  our  counsels.  So 
we  had  to  discipline  him."  "Then  you  think  it  wrong 


SABBA  TH  REFORM.  141 

to  do  the  work  of  a  driver  or  conductor  on  the  cars  on 
the  Sabbath?"  "Most  assuredly  I  do.  It  is  a  breach 
of  the  fourth  commandment,  'in  it  thou  shalt  do  no 
work.'  '  "Then  you  would  not  take  the  post  of  driver 
or  conductor  if  you  were  a  working  man?"  "No,  by 
no  manner  of  means."  "But  who  employs  these  men 
to  break  the  Sabbath?"  "Why  the  companies,  of 
course."  "Who  constitute  the  companies?"  "The 
members,  the  stockholders."  "Then  the  stockholders 
are  guilty  of  employing  men  to  break  the  Sabbath." 
"That  is  just  what  I  told  them  at  our  last  meeting,  and 
I  entered  my  protest  against  it."  "Do  you  still  retain 
your  membership  and  receive  your  share  of  the  pro- 
ceeds?" "O,  yes;  I  do  not  think  it  is  any  worse  to 
hold  stock  in  a  corporation  whose  works  run  on  the 
Sabbath  than  to  hold  the  bonds  of  a  government  which 
carries  the  mail  on  the  Sabbath."  "That  has  nothing 
to  do  with  the  case.  You  employ  a  man  to  break  the 
Sabbath.  You  pay  him  his  wages.  You  receive  your 
share  of  the  earnings  of  the  business.  Then  you  sum- 
mon your  employe  before  a  church  court  of  which  you 
are  a  member,  pronounce  him  guilty  and  pass  sentence, 
while  you  are  more  culpable  before  God  than  he.  The 
fact  that  you  go  to  church  while  your  poor  brother 
performs  the  mechanical  part  of  the  work  for  you,  can 
not  shield  your  guilt.  You  are  a  base  hypocrite.  You 
do  not  deserve  the  name  of  a  man.  That  brother 
whom  you  officially  condemned  is  a  saint  compared  to 
you.  I  have  not  words  strong  enough  to  express  my 
contempt  for  you  and  your  hollow  profession." 

I  have  been  reading  a  volume  of  prize  essays  on  the 


142  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

Sabbath.  There  are  three,  "Heaven's  Antidote  to  the 
Curse  of  Labor,"  "The  Torch  of  Time,"  and  "The 
Pearl  of  Days."  In  the  second  there  is  a  passage 
which  I  wish  to  quote. 

A  street-car  company  resolves,  by  a  vote  of  the 
corporators,  to  run  their  cars  on  Sabbath;  they  give 
orders  to  the  superintendent  to  that  end,  and  he  in 
turn  conveys  the  order  to  a  conductor,  who  is  a  con- 
scientious church  member.  He  says:  "God  forbids, 
labor  on  the  Sabbath  day,  and  requires  that  it  be  spent 
in  holiness.  It  is  the  only  opportunity  I  have  of  im- 
proving myself  in  mind,  in  heart,  in  soul;  it  is  the  best 
opportunity  I  have  of  cultivating  the  affections  of  my 
wife  and  children.  I  could  not  justify  myself  in  sin- 
ning against  God  and  myself  in  conceding  to  such  an 
unfeeling  and  unjust  command.'' 

"Well,"  says  the  superintendent,  "the  company  have 
no  wish  to  employ  you  or  any  other  person  against  the 
dictates  of  their  own  conscience;  but  the  work  must  be- 
done,  and  if  you  will  not  consent  to  do  it,  I  must  look 
out  for  some  one  who  will  do  it.  There  are  plenty  of 
people  who  will  be  glad  of  such  an  offer.  However, 
as  you  are  a  faithful  and  trustworthy  servant,  I  shall 
not  thus  abruptly  accept  your  refusal  to  labor  on  the 
Sabbath,  but  shall  give  you  time  to  reflect.  And,  I 
may  add,  that  such  labor  is  not  to  be  gratuitous.  You 
will  be  paid  for  it  in  proportion  to  your  six  days* 
wages — that  is  an  important  consideration;  therefore, 
balance  all  in  your  mind,  and  inform  me,  in  the  course 
of  two  or  three  days,  of  the  conclusion  you  arrive  at.'* 

The  conductor,  had  he  been  young  and  unmarried 


SABBA  TH  REFORM.  _      143 

and  had  none  but  himself  to  provide  for,  would,  unhes- 
itatingly and  on  the  very  spot  where  such  conversation 
occurred,  throw  up  his  place,  brand  the  conduct  of  the 
company  as  infamous  and  unjust,  and  refuse  to  submit 
to  such  vassalage  and  sin,  let  the  consequences  be  what 
they  may.  But  he  has  a  wife  and  family  to  support, 
and  his  position  is  very  different.  "With  a  burdened 
heart  he  goes  home  and  acquaints  his  wife  with  the 
unlawful  demand  made  on  his  sacred  birth-right.  The 
first  sight  of  his  loving  wife  and  smiling  children  has  a 
talismanic  power  in  renewing  his  resolution  to  with- 
stand this  demand;  their  appearance  awakens  innu- 
merable associations  entwined  about  the  Sabbath,  and 
which  render  it  dear  to  the  heart  of  the  laboring  man. 
The  conductor  unfolds  to  his  wife  the  un-Christian  de- 
mand made  on  his  Sabbath,  and  the  very  act  of  reveal- 
ing it  strengthens  his  determination  to  resist  it.  When 
the  tide  of  feeling  has  ceased  to  flow,  sober  reason 
places  the  consequences  of  resigning  his  situation  in 
stern  reality  before  himself  and  his  wife.  No  other 
situation  presents  itself  to  them,  nor  is  there  any  like- 
lihood of  one  appearing  soon.  In  providing  for  the 
wants  of  a  rising  family  there  is  nothing  saved  to  meet 
this  trying  emergency.  The  children  are  still  helpless; 
their  wants  are  daily  increasing;  every  feeling  of  the 
parent's  heart  and  soul  rebels  against  exposing  these 
smiling  and  innocent  young  ones  to  starvation.  Yet, 
how  is  that  to  be  prevented  if  the  conductor  resigns 
his  employment?  If  he  is  idle  a  single  week  he  be- 
comes bankrupt,  and  who  will  trust  him  a  week's  pro- 
vision when  he  has  no  security  for  being  employed  on 


144  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

the  succeeding  one,  or  even  month?  He  looks  again 
at  his  wife  and  children,  and  that  look  unnerves  his 
former  resolution.  As  a  husband,  as  a  father,  as  a 
man,  he  cannot  expose  them  to  starvation.  There  is 
only  one  way  of  preventing  it,  and  that  is  to  retain  his 
present  situation  by  agreeing  to  labor  on  the  day  of 
sacred  rest.  Conscious  of  the  sin  he  is  about  to  com- 
mit, his  heart  rises  in  righteous  indignation  at  the  com- 
pany for  driving  him  to  the  dreadful  alternative  of 
choosing  between  laboring  on  the  Sabbath  or  starving 
his  wife  and  family.  He  is  compelled  to  accede  to 
their  unjust  demands. 

"Let  any  railway  director  or  shareholder,  if  he  is  a 
husband  and  father,  suppose  himself  placed  in  circum- 
stances similar  to  those  of  the  conductor  we  have  now 
described,  and  then  say  whether  or  not  the  laborer 
may  be  coerced  to  extend  his  labors  to  the  Sahbath. 
If  the  heart  of  such  a  director  or  shareholder  is  not 
dead  to  feeling,  we  calculate  on  his  verdict  in  support 
of  our  proposition,  namely:  that  the  rest  of  the  Sab- 
bath ought  to  be  preserved  from  all  encroachments  of 
unnecessary  labor,  because  there  are  people  in  every 
department  of  labor  in  which  the  laboring  classes  are 
engaged  similarly  circumstanced  to  this  street-car  con- 
ductor, and  where  Sabbath  labor  is  required  they  are 
exposed  to  the  same  species  of  injury." 

John  Foster  tells  us  of  "a  ship  having  an  enemy  on 
board.  He  concealed  a  piece  of  loadstone  near  the 
compass,  and  the  captain,  following  the  erring  needle, 
ignorantly  entered  the  enemy's  port  and  was  captured." 
The  man  who  buys  and  reads  the  Sunday  newspaper  on 


SABBATH  REFORM.  m      145 

Sabbath,  who  holds  stock  in  Sabbath-breaking  corpo- 
rations, has  placed  such  a  loadstone  near  the  compass 
of  his  conscience,  and  if  he  leaves  it  there,  in  the  end 
he  may  be  surprised  to  find  that  he  has  entered,  not 
the  haven  of  rest  above,  but  the  harbor  of  woe  below, 
where  he  will  be  Satan's  captive  forever. 

"Nor  thy  maid-servant.  "  Domestics  have  a  right  to 
Sabbath  rest,  and  to  compel  them  to  stay  at  home  and 
cook  a  fine  dinner  while  the  family  goes  to  God's  house 
for  worship,  is  to  contravene  their  inalienable  right. 
"Nor  thy  cattle."  Doth  God  take  care  for  oxen? 
Yes,  these  horses  and  mules  on  our  street-car  lines  have 
as  much  right  to  the  Sabbath  rest  as  their  owners. 
Work  them  seven  days  in  the  week  and  you  break  the 
fourth  commandment.  God  has  provided  for  them. 
"Nor  the  stranger  within  thy  gates."  Even  the  casual 
visitor  has  a  right  to  the  Sabbath  rest.  All  unnecessary 
common  labor  is  prohibited  on  the  Sabbath,  b.  What 
is  commanded.  "We  are  to  count  the  Sabbath  a  de- 
light, the  holy  of  the  Lord,  honorable." 

After  a  lecture  in  the  Presbyterian  Theological  Semi- 
nary at  Danville,  Ky.,  the  following  questions  were 
asked:  "You  condemn  the  Sunday  paper.  When  is 
the  Monday  paper  to  be  made?"  "If  no  Sunday  paper 
were  issued,  the  work  done  on  Saturday  would  answer. 
The  men  could  quit  before  12  o'clock  Saturday  night 
and  begin  after  12  o'clock  Sabbath  night,  and  there 
would  be  no  break  in  the  continuity  of  the  paper." 
"The  Sabbath  is  for  rest.  Is  it  not  right  to  sleep  later 
Sabbath  morning  than  usual,  to  enjoy  the  rest?"  "The 
Sabbath  is  to  be  an  holy  rest.  It  is  a  day  consecrated 


146  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

to  God.  If  we  count  it  a  delight,  then  we  will  be  up 
as  early  as  on  any  other  day  to  enjoy  it.  Children  are 
up  on  picnic  day.  Their  hearts  are  in  it."  "Would 
it  not  be  right  to  use  the  cars  to  fill  an  appointment  to 
preach?"  "Mr.  Moody  said  he  never  would  go  to 
preach  where  he  had  to  use  the  street  or  steam  cars. 
His  position  is  the  true  one."  "Would  it  not  be  right 
for  poor  families  in  the  cities  to  go  to  parks  or  groves 
in  the  suburbs  on  Sabbath  and  enjoy  nature?"  "Con- 
secrated families  never  do  it.  Dr.  Scovel  and  others 
advocate  the  Saturday  half  holiday  for  just  such  recre- 
ation. The  Sabbath  day  is  to  be  devoted  to  God." 
"Would  you  censure  a  church  member  for  going  to  the 
post-office  on  Sabbath?  They  almost  universally  do 
it."  "I  did  not  find  a  single  case  in  my  congregation 
during  my  nearly  nine  years'  pastorate  in  Cincinnati. 
A  minister  should  preach  against  it,  earnestly  remon- 
strate with  any  one  doing  it,  and  as  a  last  resort  it 
should  be  made  a  matter  of  discipline."  "Does  hold- 
ing stock  in  a  Sabbath-breaking  corporation  involve 
personal  responsibility  for  the  breach  of  the  fourth 
commandment?"  "It  most  assuredly  does.  The  em- 
ployes are  personally  guilty  for  desecrating  the  Sab- 
bath by  common  labor.  But  they  are  only  agents; 
the  company  is  the  principal,  and  all  the  guilt  of  the 
organism  attaches  to  each  individual  member.  When 
the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  Si  Western  Railroad  re- 
solved to  run  their  trains  on  Sabbath,  their  president, 
the  Hon.  Wm.  E.  Dodge,  protested.  They  disregarded 
his  protest,  and  then  he  resigned.  That  is  the  only 
course  for  Christians  to  pursue  with  reference  to  Sab- 


SABBATH  REFORM.  „      147 

bath-breaking  corporations.  A  dairyman  near  Lex- 
ington quit  the  business  and  sold  his  600  cows  for 
beef  because  it  made  him  work  on  Sabbath."  "Would 
it  not  be  right  for  a  student  of  theology  to  take  recrea- 
tion on  Sabbath?''  "He  should  rest  from  the  study 
of  Hebrew  and  Greek  languages,  from  systematic  the- 
ology and  the  dry  bones  of  criticism.  But  the  rest  for 
him  is  found  in  the  happy  exercises  of  individual, 
domestic  and  public  worship."  "In  our  cities,  is  not 
the  Sabbath  becoming  a  burden  to  church- workers? 
It  is  the  busiest  day  of  the  week."  "The  consecrated 
laborers  are  few.  Seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the  young 
men  never  go  to  church,  ninety-five  per  cent,  are  not 
members,  and  ninety-seven  per  cent,  do  no  work  for 
Christ.  Only  three  per  cent,  do  the  work.  Of  course, 
the  load  will  be  heavy  for  them.  I  see  no  way  to 
avoid  it.  God  will  give  them  strength."  "Is  it  not 
dangerous  for  a  preacher  to  hold  up  such  a  high  stand- 
ard before  his  people?  Will  it  not  necessitate  keeping 
his  grip  packed?"  "A  minister  is  to  preach  the 
preaching  God  bids  him."  "Should  you  receive  a  tele- 
gram that  your  father  or  mother  were  dying,  would  it 
not  be  right  to  take  the  cars  and  go  at  once  on  the 
Sabbath?"  "I  do  not  regard  that  as  a  duty.  I  heard  a 
Presbyterian  minister  say  that  he  responded  to  such  a 
telegram  respecting  his  mother,  and  traveled  on  the 
cars  all  Sabbath  day.  She  was  much  better  when  he 
reached  her,  and  soon  recovered.  He  said  he  felt  all 
the  way  as  if  he  was  doing  wrong,  and  would  never  do 
so  again.  A  Baptist  minister  once  stated  that  he 
never  rode  on  the  cars  on  the  Sabbath  but  once.  He 


148  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

took  sick  away  from  home  and  thought  he  was  taking 
a  fever,  and  being  anxious  to  get  home,  he, got  on  the 
train.  By  the  time  he  reached  home  he  was  well.  He 
would  never  do  that  again." 

If  we  delight  in  the  Sabbath,  we  will  so  adjust  our 
worldly  affairs  on  Saturday  as  to  be  the  freest  possible 
from  anxious  thoughts  and  cares  about  them  on  Sab- 
bath. We  will  rise  betimes  Sabbath  morning.  Some 
good  people  have  a  habit  of  rising  later  Sabbath 
morning  and  retiring  earlier  Sabbath  evening  than  on 
other  days.  They  do  not  mean  it  so,  but  it  is  practically 
cutting  off  the  Lord's  day  at  both  ends.  We  will  spend 
the  morning  hours  in  secret  prayer,  family  worship, 
reading  and  meditating  upon  the  scripture,  and  thus 
preparing  our  souls  for  the  sanctuary.  We  will  spend 
the  body  of  the  day  in  God's  house,  in  public  worship, 
and  in  the  Sabbath  School  leading  souls  to  Christ. 
We  will  spend  the  evening  hours  around  the  fireside,  re- 
capitulating the  sermons  of  the  day,  reading  verse  about 
in  the  Bible,  narrating  each  other's  experiences  in  the 
divine  life,  etc.  And  then,  in  the  language  of  the  bard 
of  Scotland,  in  his  "Cotter's  Saturday  Night" — 

"They  round  the  ingle  form  a  circle  wide, 

The  sire  turns  o'er  wi'  patriarchal  grace 
The  big  ha'  Bible,  'ance  his  father's  pride, 

And  'Let  us  worship  God/  he  says,  wi'  solemn  air. 

"They  chant  their  artless  notes  in  simple  guise, 
The  priest -like  father  reads  the  sacred  page, 
And  kneeling  down  to  heaven's  eternal  King, 
The  saint,  the  father  and  the  husband  prays." 

And  thus  ends  "the  Pearl  of  Days."  An  ancient 
city  was  surrounded  with  walls.  The  King  deter- 


SABBATH  REFORM. 


mines  to  take  them  down.  When  the  workmen  came 
to  the  gates  they  saw  this  inscription  over  them: 
"With  these  gates  the  city  stands  or  falls."  The  civil 
and  religious  Sabbaths  are  the  two  leaved  gates  of  the 
city  of  God.  "With  these  gates  the  city  stands  or 
falls."  Give  America  for  two  centuries  the  continental 
Sunday  of  Europe,  and  we«are  in  the  hands  of  money- 
grips,  robbers,  drunkards  and  libertines.  Give  America 
two  centuries  of  the  true  Christian  Sabbath,  and  we 
will  know  from  experience  the  truth  of  the  words  of 
the  Psalmist,  "Blessed  is  the  nation  whose  God  is  the 
Lord.  " 


CHAPTER    IX. 


DIVORCE     REFORM. 

• 

Marriage  is  an  ordinance  of  God.  An  engagement 
is  a  civil  contract,  and  a  breach  of  promise  is  punisha- 
ble. But  marriage  is  the  union  of  one  man  and  one 
woman  for  life.  "They  are  no  more  twain,  but  one 
flesh."  The  Savior  repudiated  divorce,  "Moses,  for 
the  hardness  of  your  hearts,  granted  a  bill  of  divorce- 
ment, but  from  the  beginning  it  was  not  so."  Divorce 
is  amputation.  Mrs.  Livermore  calls  it  a  "surgical 
operation. "  The  Savior  recognized  but  one  cause 
justifying  divorce — namely,  adultery.  We  reprobate 
polygamy  on  the  one  hand  and  polyandryism  on  the 
other,  and  yet  our  divorce  laws  allow  a  man  to  have 
many  wives,  taken  consecutively,  and  a  woman  to  have 
many  husbands,  taken  one  at  a  time.  Our  mixed 
laws  are  a  standing  menace  to  the  home.  A  writer  in 
the  Bibliotheca  Sacra  for  January,  1888,  says:  "South 
Carolina  allows  no  divorce  at  all.  New  ^ork  allows 
only  the  one  cause.  Massachusetts  gives  nine  grounds, 
and  Michigan  seven.  Other  States  vary  from  three  or 
four  to  ten.  Some  of  the  States,  after  enumerating  a 
long  list  of  grievances  which  may  sunder  the  bond, 
add  yet  an  'omnibus  clause,5  giving  unlimited  discre- 
tion to  the  court.  A  divorce  granted  in  any  State  is 
legal  in  every  other.  After  narrating  a  flagrant  case 


DIVORCE  REFORM.  _     151 

of  a  man  marrying  several  wives  in  succession,  a  friend 
designated  it  'consecutive  polygamy,'  as  contrasted 
with  the  'contemporaneous  polygamy  of  Utah." 

Let  these  facts  be  pondered:  "Divorces  have 
doubled  in  proportion  to  marriages  in  the  thirty  years 
from  1850  to  1880.  In  Connecticut  it  had  become  in 
the  latter  year  one  divorce  to  every  ten  and  four-tenths 
marriages;  in  Rhode  Island,  one  to  eleven;  in  Massa- 
chusetts, one  to  twenty;  in  Maine,  one  to  ten;  in  Ver- 
mont, one  to  fourteen ;  for  all  New  England,  about  one 
to  fourteen.  In  twenty-nine  counties  in  California,  in 
a  recent  year,  an  investigator  found  one  divorce  to 
seven  and  four-tenths  marriages.  In  San  Francisco, 
in  one  year,  one  to  five  and  seven-tenths,  and  in  one 
solitary  county  in  California  as  low  as  one  to  three. 
In  Ohio  the  number  has  increased  since  1870  ninety- 
five  per  cent,  while  marriages  have  increased  only 
twenty-nine  per  cent,  and  population  only  thirty  per 
cent.  Bishop  Gillespie,  of  Michigan,  collected,  a  few 
years  ago,  facts  from  twenty-four  counties,  which  show 
about  one  to  thirteen.  I  have  personally  obtained 
from  the  proper  officers  in  Grand  Rapids  the  fact  that 
from  October,  1884,  to  October,  1885,  one  divorce  was 
granted  to  four  and  a  half  marriages,  as  the  record  of 
Kent  county.  For  1886,  from  the  figures  so  far  col- 
lected, it  will  be  about  one  to  six,  making  Kent  county 
one  of  the  banner  counties  in  the  country  in  its  dis- 
graceful record  against  the  home."  But  the  showing 
against  the  Protestants  is  worse  than  the  figures  when 
we  remember  that  the  Catholics  grant  no  divorces. 
Judge  Jennison,  of  Michigan,  calls  this  "the  dry  rot 


152  RE  FORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

of  our  society,  eating  out  its  life  with  awful  certainty, 
however  strong  and  prosperous  the  surface  may 
appear."  Also  mark  this  fact:  In  Massachusetts, 
"between  1860  and  1880  the  population  increased 
45  per  cent,  marriages  increased  25  per  cent.,  and 
divorces  145  per  cent."  The  same  is  true  throughout 
New  England,  and  presumably  elsewhere. 

An  article  in  the  November  number,  1887,  of  the 
Methodist  Review,  by  Rev.  Richard  Wheatly,  D.  D., 
Cornwall,  N.  Y.,  on  "The  Alleged  Decay  of  the 
Family,"  contains  some  startling  facts.  Referring  to 
"the  shamefully  criminal  practice  of  pre-natal  infanti- 
cide," he  says:  "The  committee  of  a  Western  State 
Board  of  Health  avows  the  conviction  'that  in  the 
United  States  the  number  of  women  who  die  from  its 
immediate  effects  is  not  less  than  six  thousand  per 
annum.'  Gynecologists  affirm  that  it  is  not  maternity 
which  sends  to  them  the  largest  number  of  patients, 
but  the  needless  refusal  of  its  responsibilities."  "In 
Ohio,  careful  medical  investigation  has  led  to  the  con- 
clusion that  pre-natal  infanticide  annually  robs  the 
family  of  one-third  its  legitimate  increment.  In  the 
Northern  States  it  is  said  to  be  more  prevalent  than  in 
Buddhist  China.  The  murder  of  adults  or  of  children 
may  be  comparatively  infrequent,  but  the  All-seeing 
alone  knows  to  what  extent  the  destruction  of  unborn 
life  has  gone  and  is  going."  As  to  "the  facility  and 
frequency  with  which  marriage  bonds  are  dissolved," 
he  says:  "In  1878  Connecticut  granted  one  divorce 
to  every  10.4  marriages;  Vermont,  I  to  14;  Massa- 
chusetts, i  to  21.4;  New  Hampshire,  I  to  10.9;  Rhode 


DIVORCE  REFORM.  -     153 

Island,  in  1882,  I  to  n;  Maine,  in  1880,  I  to  10; 
Ohio,  in  1882,  I  to  16.8.  San  Francisco  did  yet 
worse,  and  in  1 88 1  granted  a  divorce  to  each  5.78 
marriages.  Marin  county,  California,  bears  the  ban- 
ner in  front  of  the  pestilent  divorce  march,  or  one 
divorce  for  every  two  and  eleven-hundredths  marriages. 
Legal  divorces  appear  to  have  doubled  in  proportion 
to  marriages  or  population  within  the  last  thirty  years." 
In  some  New  England  manufacturing  towns  "swap- 
ping wives"  is  not  uncommon.  Many  men  "maintain 
two  families."  He  quotes  this  passage  from  Judge 
Noah  Davis:  "A  is  married  in  New  York,  where  he 
has  resided  for  years  and  has  a  family,  and  is  the 
owner  of  real  and  other  estate.  He  desires  divorce, 
and  goes  to  Indiana  where  the  thing  is  cheap  and  easy. 
Upon  complying  with  some  local  rule,  and  with  no 
actual  notice  to  his  wife,  he  gets  a  decree  of  divorce, 
and  presently  is  married  in  that  State  to  another  wife, 
who  brings  him  other  children.  He  again  acquires 
new  estates;  but  tiring  of  his  second  wife,  he  deserts 
her  and  goes  to  California,  where  in  a  brief  space  he 
is  again  divorced,  and  then  marries  again,  forming  a 
new  family  and  acquiring  new  real  and  personal  es- 
tates. In  a  few  years  his  fickle  taste  changes  again, 
and  he  returns  to  New  York,  where  he  finds  his  first 
wife  has  obtained  a  valid  divorce  for  his  adulterous 
marriage  in  Indiana,  which  sets  her  free  and  forbids 
his  marrying  again  during  her  life-time  He  then  slips 
into  an  Eastern  State,  takes  a  new  residence,  acquires 
real  property  there,  and  after  a  period  gets  judicially 
freed  from  his  California  bonds.  He  returns  to  New 


154  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

York,  takes  some  new  affjnity,  crosses  the  New  Jersey 
line,  and  in  an  hour  is  back  again  in  New  York,  enjoy- 
ing so  much  of  his  estate  as  the  courts  have  not  ad- 
judged to  his  first  wife,  and  gives  new  children  to  the 
world....  He  dies  intestate."  What  is  is  the  legal 
standing  of  these  children?  Are  they  illegitimate? 
What  of  his  wives?  These  facts  are  a  disgrace  to  our 
Christian  civilization,  and  they  cry  to  heaven  for  ven- 
geance. God  will  surely  visit  such  a  nation  as  this. 

I  blush  to  mention  the  fact.  Yonder  beneath  the 
shadow  of  the  Adiroadacks  there  lives  a  man  by  the 
name  of  William  Jones,  and  he  has  100  children. 
That  fowl  out  yonder  in  the  barn  lot  that  claims  to  be 
the  king  of  that  territory  and  indicates  its  kingship  by 
daily  and  hourly  crowing,  is,  in  my  estimation,  supe- 
rior to  that  individual  living  at  the  foot  of  the  Adi- 
rondacks,  although  he  is  an  American  citizen  and  a 
voter.  We  are  on  the  down  grade  and  rapidly  descend- 
ing. It  took  Rome  eight  centuries  to  descend  from 
family  purity  to  family  leprosy  in  Eliogabulus.  We 
have  made  the  descent  in  about  two.  It  is  time  to 
bring  down  the  air-brakes.  What  can  be  done? 

1.  Brand  the  libertine   with  the  same  infamy  that 
society  visits  upon  the  harlot.     It  is  true  to-day  that 
"good  women,  who  will  not  touch  the  harlot  with  their 
little  fingers,  yet  suffer  the  society  and  the  advances  of 
men  who  make  harlots. "     This  is  a  great  wrong.     A 
fallen  woman  and  a  fallen  man  should  share  the  same 
frown  from  society.     The  first  is  a  no  greater  sinner 
than  the  second. 

2.  Reprobate   hasty    and    ill-considered    marriages. 


DIVORCE  REFORM.  '    155 

This  evil  has  its  bitter  root  in  the  faithless  heart.  It 
begins  with  hasty,  ill-considered,  mercenary  marriages. 
Shakespeare's  "Hamlet"  is  a  flaming  torch  to  warn  us 
against  infidelity  to  marriage  vows.  It  leads  to  broken 
hearts,  ruined  homes,  murder  and  death.  Multitudes 
are  governed  by  fickle  fortune. 

"The  great  man  down,  mark  you  his  favorite  flies; 
The  poor  advanced  makes  friends  of  enemies. 
And  hitherto  doth  love  on  fortune  tend : 
For  who  not  needs,  shall  never  lack  a  friend; 
And  who  in  want  a  hollow  friend  doth  try, 
Directly  seasons  him  his  enemy." 

3.  A  vigorous    enforcement    of  a  legal    separation 
""from  board  and  bed"  in  cases  of  incompatibility  as 
the  best  means  of  future  reconciliation.     In  many  cases 
a  few  months'  separation  will  convince  the  quarreling 
couple  that  they  really  love  each  other  and  can  not  be 
happy  living  apart. 

4.  Demand  a  uniform  national  divorce  law.     Greece 
and  Rome  are  object  lessons,  enforcing  the  fact  that 
licentiousness  and  lax  marriage  laws  go  hand  in  hand. 
The  celibacy  and  "no  divorce"  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  have    been  equally  ruinous.     The  Reformers 
on  the  Continent  and  the  Puritans  of  New  England 
went  to  the  opposite  extreme  of  laxness  as  a  protest 
against  Rome's  ironclad  law.      It  is  time  for  our  nation 
to  adopt  the  divine  law  as  announced  by  Christ. 


CHAPTER   X. 


TEMPERANCE    REFORM. 

At  4  o'clock  in  the  morning  on  the  I2th  of  April, 
1861,  Fort  Sumter  was  fired  upon.  That  was  the  sig- 
nal for  the  opening  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion.  From 
that  hour  until  the  9th  of  April,  1865,  when  Lee  sur- 
rendered to  Grant  at  Appomatox,  this  war  continued. 
It  cost  our  nation  $9,000,000,000  and  1,000,000  pre- 
cious lives,  North  and  South.  This  sacrifice  was  made 
to  save  the  nation's  life,  and  set  at  liberty  those  in 
bondage. 

We  have  a  greater  conflict  upon  us  to-day.  The 
Southern  Confederacy  was  not  so  great  a  foe  to  our 
Republic  as  the  liquor  traffic.  What  are  its  dimen- 
sions? According  to  official  reports,  there  are  in  the 
United  States  5,652  distilleries,  2,830  breweries  and 
248,992  places  where  intoxicating  drinks  are  sold. 
There  are  employed  in  making  and  vending  intoxicat- 
ing drinks  not  less  than  545,624  men.  The  following 
item  went  the  rounds  of  the  press  some  time  since: 
"The  10,000,000  barrels  of  beer  sold  last  year  would 
have  filled  a  canal  21  feet  wide  and  5  feet  deep,  ex- 
tending from  New  York  to  Philadelphia,  and  it  would 
take  a  pump  throwing  30  gallons  a  minute,  running 
night  and  day,  over  21  years  to  pump  it  out.  It  was 
swallowed,  however." 


TEMPERANCE  REFORM.  -    15T 

No  less  than  6,000,000  of  our  population  visit  these 
saloons.  Of  these,  600,000  become  drunkards,  and 
60,000  annually  fill  a  drunkard's  grave. 

Senator  Windom  said:  "I  do  not  overstate  it  when 
I  say  that  the  two  hundred  thousand  saloons  in  this 
country  have  been  instrumental  in  destroying  more 
human  lives,  in  the  last  five  years,  than  the  two  mill- 
ions of  armed  men  did  during  the  four  years  of  the 
Rebellion.  Whisky  is  a  more  deadly  weapon  than 
shot  or  shell,  or  any  of  the  implements  of  our  im- 
proved modern  warfare. "  Just  think  of  the  awful  pro- 
cession of  human  beings,  four  deep  and  274  miles  long, 
marching  every  year  into, the  doorway  of  hell.  It  is 
estimated  that  within  the  last  fifty  years  more  than 
three  millions  of  American  citizens  have  been  destroyed 
by  the  liquor  traffic;  and  more  than  seven  millions  of 
women  and  children,  under  our  vaunted  flag  of  pro- 
tection, have  stood  at  the  graves  of  their  murdered 
husbands  and  fathers  and  sent  up  their  cries  to  the 
Avenging  God  of  the  widow  and  fatherless.  Add  to 
this  the  pecuniary  loss.  Our  nation's  drink  bill  is 
$900,000,000  per  year.  And  Dr.  Wm.  Hargreaves 
says  if  you  add  the  "consequential  damages"  it  will 
make  $2,000,000,000.  Every  ten  years  we  expend 
for  intoxicating  drinks  more  than  the  value  of  all  the 
products  of  agricultural  and  our  mechanical  and  man- 
ufacturing industries.  If  a  fire  were  kindled  every 
tenth  year,  reaching  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific, 
and  continue  burning  from  the  first  of  January  till  the 
last  of  December,  and  all  our  agricultural,  mechanical 
and  manufactured  products,  as  fast  as  produced,  cast 


158  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

into  the  flames  and  burned  until  nothing  remained  but 
ashes,  it  would  not  inflict  a  greater  injury  than  is  sus- 
tained every  ten  years  by  drink. 

Bear  in  mind  that  40,000,000  bushels  of  nutritious 
grain  are  annually  destroyed  by  the  traffic;  enough  to 
make  600,000,000  four-pound  loaves  of  bread,  which 
would  allow  seventy-nine  loaves  to  every  family  in  the 
United  States,  and  would  make  a  pavement  ten  yards 
wide  reaching  from  Boston  to  Chicago. 

It  is  the  pernicious  source  of  four-fifths  of  all  the 
wretchedness,  vice  and  crime  in  the  land.  You  know 
there  is  everything  behind  this  expenditure.  Disease> 
delirium  tremens,  murder,  suicide,  accident,  ship- 
wreck— all  these  lie  behind  it.  There  lies  behind  it  a 
stunted,  blighted,  squalid  population.  There  lies  be- 
hind it  an  hereditary  craving,  which  makes  the  whole 
life  of  thousands  one  long  scene  of  anguish. 

George  W.  Bain  said  in  Chickering  Hall,  New  York: 
"Down  in  Kentucky,  some  time  ago,  young  Henry 
Clay,  the  grandson  of  our  great  Southern  statesman, 
lay  bleeding  to  death  from  a  wound  inflicted  upon  him 
in  a  drunken  brawl  by  a  liquor  seller.  In  the  same 
city,  at  the  same  time,  the  grandson  of  John  J.  Critten- 
den,  one  of  the  brightest  men  who  ever  graced  the 
United  States  Senate,  was  also  dying  from  injuries  re- 
ceived while  drunk,  and  at  the  same  hour  the  great- 
grandson  of  Patrick  Henry  was  in  a  cell,  brought  there 
by  drink.  Look  at  these  great  men  off  there  on  the 
summit  of  fame,  and  look  at  their  offspring,  disgraced 
by  drunkenness.  My  friends,  this  is  not  evolution,  but 
devil-ution." 


TEMPERANCE  REFORM.  -      159 

Dr.  McArthur  said:  "Going  down  Sixth  avenue, 
New  York,  a  little  time  ago,  I  saw  a  door,  over  which 
were  these  words,  'Saloon:  A.  Blessing.'  This  struck 
me  as  being  somewhat  inaccurate.  A  man  named 
Blessing  ought  surely  to  be  in  some  other  business. 
Had  the  inscription  read,  'Saloon:  A.  Curse,'  it  would 
have  been  nearer  the  truth;  had  it  read,  'Saloon:  the 
Greatest  Curse  on  this  Earth,'  the  words  would  have 
been  literally  true.  In  another  part  of  the  same  city 
there  is  a  saloon  which  is  properly  named.  Over  its 
main  entrance  are  the  words,  'Hell  Gate.'  In  connec- 
tion with  this  title  there  might  be  given  a  part  of  the 
inscription  which  Dante  places  over  the  gate  of  his  hell: 

'Through  me  ye  enter  the  abode  of  woe; 
Through  me  to  endless  sorrow  are  ye  brought; 

Through  me  amid  the  souls  accurst  ye  go. 
******* 

All  hope  abandon  ye  who  enter  here.'  " 

Of  the  men  engaged  in  this  traffic  a  California  re- 
ligious paper  said:  "These  men  are  traitors,  and  are 
eminently  out  of  place  when  out  of  jail.  They  are 
the  chief  of  the  criminal  classes,  the  leaders  and  abet- 
tors of  the  crimes  and  criminals  of  the  State.  They 
decoy,  drug,  demoralize  and  rob  the  workingmen, 
making  Saturday  night  and  Sabbath  a  harvest  of  gold 
drawn  from  labor  at  the  cost  of  violence,  pauperism, 
suicide,  and  unspeakable  woe.  They  live  and  fatten 
on  tears  and  blood." 

The  New  York  Tribune^  so  inconsistent  on  this  sub- 
ject, said:  "Upon  what  does  the  success  of  the  liquor 
traffic  depend?  Upon  debased  manhood,  degraded 
womanhood,  defrauded  childhood.  It  holds  a  mortgage 


1 60  RE  FORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

over  every  cradle,  a  deed  written  in  hearts'  blood  over 
every  human  life.  Shall  mothers  bear  this  and  re- 
main silent?  Shall  fathers  know  this  and  remain  in- 
different?" The  evils  growing  out  of  the  liquor  traffic 
are  legion,  because  they  are  many. 

Christleib,  in  his  "Modern  Religious  Thought,"  re- 
fers to  an  old  mythological  story.  In  a  public  place 
in  ancient  Rome  there  once  opened,  in  consequence  of 
an  earthquake,  a  deep  chasm,  which  no  amount  of 
rubbish  could  fill  up.  The  sooth-sayers  were  con- 
sulted, and  they  answered  that  the  most  precious 
thing  in  Rome  must  be  cast  into  it.  This  was  inter- 
preted by  a  young  hero  as  applying  to  manly  energy 
and  weapons;  and  courageous  unto  death  and  fully 
accoutred,  he  sprang  into  the  yawning  abyss,  which 
immediately  closed  over  him. 

The  liquor  traffic  has  made  such  a  rent  in  our  land. 
Twice  as  much  wealth  as  would  buy  all  the  banks  in 
the  United  States  is  annually  thrown  into  it.  But  it 
is  not  filled.  Sixty  thousand  people  go  down  to  death 
every  year,  just  as  Korah,  Dathan  and  Abiram  and 
their  company  went  down  when  the  earth  opened  wide 
her  mouth  and  swallowed  them  up.  No  one  but  the 
King  of  Kings  can  close  it. 

When  Peter  tried  to  walk  on  the  water  he  was  afraid 
of  the  winds  and  waves  and  began  to  sink.  Christ  let 
him  sink  low  enough  to  drown  all  the  pride  out  of  him 
and  then  he  lifted  him  up.  We  may  expect  defeat 
after  defeat  for  Prohibition  until  we  as  a  people  lift  up 
our  soul  to  the  King  of  Kings  and  appeal  to  him  for 
help. 


TEMPERANCE  REFORM.  161 


TOTAL   ABSTINENCE. 

The  temperance  movement,  inaugurated  to  arrest 
the  evils  of  the  drink  system,  is  now  about  half  a  cent- 
ury old.  Then  our  population  was  nearly  12,000,000, 
and  mostly  American  in  birth  and  feeling.  Now  it  is 
65,000,000,  and  what  with  foreign  immigration  we 
have  become  a  composite  nationality.  The  move- 
ment, through  all  its  Washingtonian,  Father  Matthew, 
Cold  Water,  Band  of  Hope,  Good  Templar  and  W. 
C.  T.  U.  phases,  has  steadily  advanced  in  strength  and 
influence,  until  to  day  it  is  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Po- 
tomac, marching  on  to  Appomattox  and  "the  sour 
apple  tree."  There  are  three  principles  underlying 
the  movement. 

I.  Total  abstinence  on  the  part  of  the  individual. 
Even  admitting  that  intoxicants  are  harmless  when 
taken  in  moderation,  the  times  demand  total  absti- 
nence. Alcohol  is  in  bad  company.  It  has  joined  the 
devil's  service,  and  with  the  devil  it  must  go.  Dr. 
Alexander  used  to  take  a  glass  of  wine  every  New 
Year's  day,  not  because  he  needed  it,  but  to  show  that 
it  was  his  privilege  to  do  so.  This  is  the  position'  of 
many  in  this  day.  But  it  is  unsafe.  It  is  not  avoiding 
"the  appearance  of  evil."  Alcohol  is  an  offense,  and 
must  be  abandoned  by  God's  people.  "It  is  good 
neither  to  eat  flesh,  nor  to  drink  wine,  nor  anything 
whereby  thy  brother  stumbleth,  or  is  offended,  or  is 
made  weak."  Gough  related  the  following:  "A  min- 
ister of  the  gospel  stood  in  a  reform  meeting  and  was 
showing  how  that  a  man  might  take  strong  drink 


162  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

moderately  and  yet  do  right,  and  how  the  head  of  a 
family  might  have  wine  on  his  table,  and  yet  do  right 
in  all  this  matter;  and  after  he  had  made  a  powerful 
and  eloquent  argument  he  sat  down  in  the  pulpit. 
Then  an  aged  man  arose  in  the  audience  and  said:  'I 
have  a  broken  heart;  I  have  buried  my  only  son.  He 
started  in  life  with  beautiful  prospects;  he  is  to-day  in 
a  drunkard's  grave;  and  when  he  was  dying  he  told 
me  that  he  started  that  awful  habit  at  the  table  of  a 
Christian  clergyman,  and  that  Christian  clergyman  is 
the  man  who  just  sat  down  in  the  pulpit.'" 

But  there  is  a  stronger  basis  for  total  abstinence. 
I.  It  is  demanded  by  irreversible  natural  law.  (a)  The 
voice  of  natural  law  in  science  declares  that  alcohol  is 
a  poison.  Take  away  the  water  in  which  alcohol  is 
held  in  solution,  and  you  have  left  a  pure  poison. 
Alcohol  is  the  product  of  fermentation,  and  is  the 
poison  evolved  in  the  process  of  decomposition.  Dis- 
tillation, unknown  until  the  eleventh  century,  gives 
the  same  product.  The  highest  medical  authority  jus- 
tifies the  assertion  that  alcohol  is  a  pure  poison.  Drs. 
Tellemand,  Perrin  and  M.  Duroy  have  performed  a 
number  of  experiments,  as  recorded  in  their  prize 
treatise  on  the  "Action  of  Alcohol,"  in  which  they 
demonstrated  conclusively  that  alcohol  is  not  nutri- 
tious; that  it  is  not  fuel  to  the 'body,  but  a  ruinous 
poison.  The  fact  that  for  a  period  of  eight  or  ten 
hours  after  it  is  taken  alcohol  is  eliminated  unchanged 
by  the  lungs,  as  can  easily  be  detected  by  the  "smell 
of  the  breath;"  the  fact  that  there  is  a  catalogue  of 
well-established  cases  where  alcohol  has  been  found  in 


TEMPERANCE  REFORM.  .        163 

the  blood  and  brains  of  persons  who  had  died  under 
its  influence,  and  in  such  quantities  as  to  kindle  on  the 
application  of  a  flame;  the  fact  that  there  is  an  incon- 
trovertible lowering  of  the  animal  temperature  after 
an  imbition  of  alcohol,  so  the  voyagers  to  the  Arctic 
regions  find  it  necessary  to  abstain  from  its  use  that 
they  may  endure  the  cold,  or  in  the  tropical  regions 
that  they  may  endure  the  heat;  the  fact  that  its  use 
lessens  the  power  of  endurance  and  ability  to  resist 
disease,  so  that  an  army  of  total  abstainers  do  better 
fighting,  endure  more  hardships,  and  have  less  sick- 
ness than  when  alcohol  is  indulged  in ;  and  the  fact  that 
quitting  the  drinking  habit  always  improves  the  vital 
energies  of  mind  and  body,  as  appears  in  the  circum- 
stance that  drunkards,  when  arrested  and  confined  for 
a  long  period,  always  improve  on  their  forced  abstemi- 
ousness, prove  beyond  a  peradventure  that  it  is  not 
nutritious,  but  injurious. 

It  is  generally  supposed  that  alcohol  increases  the 
circulation,  and  so  generates  animal  heat.  It  is  true 
that  its  presence  does  increase  the  activity  of  the  vital 
organs,  just  as  the  speed  of  the  horse  is  increased  un- 
der the  whip  and  spur.  This  increased  activity  by 
alcohol  is  nature's  effort  to  eliminate  a  poison,  and 
energies  are  wasted  in  this  process  which  should  be 
used  in  other  directions.  Let  a  man  sit  down  on  a 
bumble-bee's  nest,  and  he  will  make  an  extraordinary 
effort  to  get  up  quickly.  It  is  wonderful  how  much 
latent  strength  is  suddenly  called  forth.  But  he  is  not 
made  stronger.  So  with  alcohol.  It  is  stimulating, 
but  not  strengthening.  Nor  is  this  all.  The  recent 


164  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

experiments  of  Drs.  Bocher  and  Virchow  unite  in 
showing  that  both  the  blood-fluid  and  red  corpuscles 
are  impaired  by  alcohol,  even  when  the  users  of  it 
appear  in  good  health;  and  Professor  Schultz  has  ob- 
served that  "alcohol  stimulates  the  blood-discs  to  an 
increased  and  unnatural  contraction,"  inducing  prema- 
ture decay  and  rendering  them  less  capable  of  absorb- 
ing oxygen  and  carrying  off  the  carbon  with  which  it 
is  loaded.  Dr.  Morse  observes  that  "by  experimenting 
on  blood  drawn  from  the  body,  with  sherry  wine  or 
diluted  alcohol,  the  blood-disc  becomes  altered  in 
shape  and  throws  out  matter  from  its  interior;  minute 
molecular  particles  also  fringe  the  circumference.  Some 
of  the  molecules  separate  from  the  blood-discs  and 
float  about  in  the  fluid;  others  elongate  into  tails, 
which  move  about  with  a  tremulous  motion  in  a  very 
remarkable  manner."  Dr.  Smiles,  having  submitted 
the  blood  of  several  of  his  friends  to  a  test,  pronounced 
the  blood  of  one  who  was  a  teetotaler  to  be  "the  live- 
liest of  them  all. "  These  facts  clearly  prove  that  the 
presence  of  alcohol  in  the  blood  in  any  measure  is  per- 
nicious. 

It  is  also  generally  supposed  that  alcohol  facilitates 
digestion.  But  this  is  fallacious.  If  you  kill  a  serpent 
and  wish  to  preserve  it,  you  put  it  in  alcohol;  you 
pickle  it.  Think  of  the  tippler  pickling  his  stomach! 
Dr.  Gordon  testified  before  the  Parliament's  commit- 
tee: "Dyspepsia  has  become  the  common  disease 
among  the  poor,  produced  entirely  by  the  practice  of 
sipping  constantly  and  habitually  small  quantities  of 
spirits."  Take  Dr.  Figg's  experiment:  "To  each  of 


TEMPERANCE  REFORM.  .       165 

two  mastiffs,  six  months  old,  four  ounces  of  cold  roast 
mutton,  cut  into  squares,  were  given,  the  meat  being 
passed  into  the  esophagus  without  contact  with  the 
teeth.  An  elastic  catheter  was  then  passed  into  the 
stomach  of  one  of  them,  and  one  ounce  and  a  quarter 
of  proof-spirits  injected.  After  several  hours  had 
elapsed  both  animals  were  killed.  In  the  case  where 
the  meat  had  been  administered  by  itself  it  had  disap- 
peared. In  the  other  the  pieces  were  as  angular  as 
when  swallowed."  Take  the  celebrated  case  of  Alexis 
St.  Martin,  who  had  an  opening  in  his  side.  Dr. 
Beaumont,  under  whose  care  he  put  himself,  says, 
when  spirits  had  been  freely  used,  inflammatory  ulcer- 
ous patches  appeared  on  the  surface  of  the  stomach, 
and  the  gastric  juice  was  diminished  in  quantity  and 
was  manifestly  unhealthy.  Dr.  Willson,  in  his  "Pa- 
thology of  Drunkenness,"  after  citing  a  number  of 
cases,  says:  "All  these  diversified  proofs  have  pointed 
unchallengeably  to  the  conclusion  that  alcohol  is  the 
most  widely  and  intensely  destructive  of  poisons.  In 
large  and  concentrated  doses  there  are  few  which  are 
more  promptly  and  inevitably  fatal.  In  moderate  and 
diluted  portions,  continuously  repeated,  it  is,  with  its 
own  peculiar  modifications  of  action,  obviously  one  of 
those  so-called  accumulative  poisons  of  which  science 
possesses  other  well-known  examples  in  corrosive  sub- 
limate, fox-glove  and  arsenic."  In  the  presence  of 
these  facts,  can  any  one  question  the  conclusion  that 
the  powers  of  digestion  are  weakened  and  impeded  by 
the  action  of  alcoholic  liquor?  I  need  not  stop  to  note 
the  fact  that  the  nervous  system  is  injured  by  it.  That 


166  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

the  brain,  the  center  of  the  nervous  sensibility,  should 
be  disturbed  by  alcohol  when  used  in  any  quantity,  is 
a  sign  of  the  facility  with  which  injury  is  done  to  the 
seat  of  thought.  And  in  the  confirmed  toper  the  brain 
assumes  the  consistency  of  a  hard-boiled  egg.  Alcohol 
is  a  poison.  It  is  essentially  injurious  to  the  physical 
and  mental  health  and  vigor  of  men. 

(b)  The  voice  of  natural  law  in  practical  experience 
declares  that  abstinence  from  alcohol  is  a  benefit. 
Homer  represents  Hector  as  refusing  the  cup  of  wine 
offered  him  by  his  mother,  Hecuba,  because  it  would 
relax  his  vigor,  and  Pope,  commenting  on  this  passage, 
observes  that  "it  is  a  vulgar  mistake  to  imagine  that 
the  use  of  wine  either  rouses  the  spirits  or  increases 
the  strength.  The  best  physicians  agree  with  Homer 
on  this  point,  whatever  modern  writers  may  object  to 
this  old  heroic  regimen."  The  International  Review, 
December,  1880,  says:  "The  Western  Saracens  ab- 
stained not  only  from  wine,  but  from  all  fermented  or 
distilled  drinks  whatsoever.  Six  millions  of  these 
truest  sons  of  temperance  held  their  own  for  seven 
centuries  against  great  odds  of  heavy-armed  Gaiours, 
excelled  all  Christendom  in  astronomy,  medicine,  agri- 
culture, chemistry  and  linguistics,  as  well  as  in  the 
abstract  sciences,  and  could  boast  of  a  whole  galaxy 
of  philosophers  and  inspired  poets."  The  Napoleons, 
Kants,  La  Places,  Chesterfields,  Wilberforces,  Proctors, 
McCoshes,  Cooks,  Lincolns — all  modern  giants — have 
been  theoretical  and  practical  abstainers.  A  man 
ninety-five  years  old  boasted  that  he  had  always  taken 
his  drink.  "But  where  are  your  boon  companions?" 


TEMPERANCE  REFORM.  167 

he  was  asked.  He  confessed  that  he  had  buried  three 
generations  of  them.  So  it  always  is.  Take  script- 
ural examples.  The  sojourn  of  the  Israelites  for  forty 
years  in  the  wilderness  without  wine  or  strong  drink; 
the  abstinence  rule  of  the  Nazarites,  with  the  picture 
drawn  of  their  physical  vigor;  the  prescription  of  total 
abstinence  to  Samson,  "who  was  strong  above  com- 
pare," and  before  parturition  to  his  mother;  the  great 
age  attained  by  men  who,  like  Samuel,  were  Nazarites 
from  birth;  the  physical  benefits  enjoyed  by  the 
Rechabites  for  three  centuries  down  to  the  time  of 
Jeremiah;  the  refusal  of  Daniel  and  the  three  children 
to  take  the  king's  wine  and  the  results — these  are  so 
many  blazing  illustrations  of  the  fact  that  natural  law 
demands  total  abstinence.  Joseph  Cook  stated  to  his 
Boston  audience:  "Mrs.  Hunt  tells  us  that  in  twenty- 
seven  States  there  are  laws  requiring  scientific  instruc- 
tion in  temperance,  and  great  publishing  houses  are 
competing  with  one  another  to  furnish  the  schools  with 
text-books  which  inculcate  total  abstinence,  not  only 
from  alcoholic  drinks,  but  also  from  narcotics." 

SCRIPTURAL   ARGUMENT   FOR   TOTAL   ABSTINENCE. 

God  is  the  author  of  all  laws,  whether  they  be  writ- 
ten upon  his  works  or  in  his  word.  Natural  law  and 
revealed  law  must  coincide,  for  they  come  from  the 
same  source.  What  is  required  or  forbidden  by  the 
one  will  be  enjoined  or  reprobated  by  the  other.  What 
are  the  facts? 

II.  Total  abstinence  is  demanded  by  the  Scriptures. 
I  do  not  propose  to  champion  the  two-wine  theory. 


168  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

A  great  deal  has  been  foolishly  spoken  and  written  on 
that  subject.  Dr.  Me  Arthur  rightly  said,  "The  insist- 
ence on  this  two-wine  theory  has  done  the  cause  of 
temperance  untold  injury."  But  it  is  evident  that  the 
Bible  speaks  of  "good  wine"  and  "the  poison  of  wine,'* 
the  "cup  of  blessing"  and  "the  wine-cup  of  God's 
wrath."  There  are  two  classes  of  wines  in  the  Script- 
ures— light  wine,  which  is  not  intoxicating,  and  mixed 
wine,  which  inebriates.  The  one  is  a  blessing,  the 
other  a  curse;  the  one  the  symbol  of  good,  the  other 
the  symbol  of  evil;  the  one  given  for  food,  the  other 
prohibited. 

The  use  of  intoxicating  wine  is  positively  and  abso- 
lutely forbidden  in  the  Scriptures  as  a  beverage,  (a) 
The  priests  were  forbidden  to  use  it  when  they  minis- 
tered before  the  Lord.  Will  it  not  necessarily  follow 
that  in  these  New  Testament  times,  when  all  God's 
people  are  "kings  and  priests  unto  God,"  that  all  are 
prohibited  from  the  use  of  intoxicating  drinks? 

(b)  Civil  officers  are  forbidden  the  use  of  it.  "It  is 
not  for  kings,  O  Lemuel,  it  is  not  for  kings  to  drink 
wine,  nor  for  princes  strong  drink,  lest  they  drink,  and 
forget  the  law,  and  pervert  the  judgment  of  any  of  the 
afflicted." 

Dr.  Fisher,  in  an  article  in  the  Century  on  "The 
Gradualness  of  Revelation,"  remarks  on  this  passage: 
"What  better  counsel  could  be  given?  The  judge  on 
the  bench  must  have  a  clear  head.  But  the  counselor, 
in  order  to  strengthen  his  admonition,  proceeds  to  say, 
'Give  strong  drink  unto  him  that  is  ready  to  perish.' 
So  far,  also,  there  is  no  exception  to  be  taken  to  the 


TEMPERANCE  REFORM.  .    169 

wisdom  of  his  precept.  The  Jews  had  a  custom,  rest- 
ing on  humane  motive,  to  administer  a  sustaining 
stimulant,  or  a  narcotic,  to  those  undergoing  punish- 
ment, in  order  to  alleviate  their  pains.  Something  of 
this  kind  was  offered  to  Jesus  on  the  cross.  But  the 
counselor  does  not  stop  at  this  point.  He  says:  'Give 
strong  drink  unto  him  that  is  ready  to  perish,  and  wine 
unto  those  that  be  of  heavy  hearts.  Let  him  drink, 
and  forget  his  poverty,  and  remember  his  misery  no 
more.'  There  need  be  no  hesitancy  in  saying  that  this 
last  exhortation  is  about  the  worst  advice  that  could 
possibly  be  given  to  a  person  in  affliction,  or  dispirited 
by  the  loss  of  property.  The  thing  to  tell  him,  espe- 
cially if  he  has  an  appetite  for  strong  drink,  is  to  avoid 
it  as  he  would  shun  poison.  Yet  our  remark  amounts 
to  nothing  more  than  this,  that  the  sacred  author  sets 
up  a  barrier  against  only  a  part  of  the  mischief  which 
is  wrought  by  intemperance.  His  vision  went  thus  far, 
but  no  farther.  It  is  a  case  where,  to  quote  a  homely, 
modern  proverb,  'half  a  loaf  is  better  than  no  bread.' 
It  would  be  a  great  gain  for  morality  and  for  the  well- 
being  of  society  if  magistrates  could  be  made  absti- 
nent." 

(c)  Bishops  or  ministers  are  "not  to  be  given  wine." 
Nothing  is  more  fatal  to  a  minister's  position  and  in- 
fluence than  tippling. 

(<af)  All  are  positively  forbidden  to  use  it.  "Look 
not  upon  the  wine  that  is  red,  when  it  giveth  its  bubble 
in  the  cup."  No  one  can  question  the  universal  obli- 
gation of  this  command. 

(e)  It  is  denounced  as  a  dangerous  evil.     "At  last  it 


170  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

biteth  like  a  serpent,  and  stingeth  like  an  adder." 
(Proverbs  23:  32.)  "The  princes  have  made  me  sick 
with  poison  (inflaming  drink)  to  him."  (Habakkuk 
2:  5.)  "The  wine  is  defrauding."  (Hab.  2:  5.)  "Be 
not  drunk  with  wine."  (Eph.  5:/.)  "Wine  is  a 
mocker,  strong  drink  is  raging,  whosoever  is  deceived 
thereby  is  not  wise. "  (Prov.  20:  i.)  "Their  wine  is 
the  poison  of  dragons  and  the  cruel  venom  of  asps." 
(Deut.  32:  33.)  "Who  hath  woe?  who  hath  sorrow? 
who  hath  contentions?  who  hath  babblings?  who  hath 
wounds  without  cause?  who  hath  redness  of  eyes? 
they  that  tarry  long  at  the  wine,  they  that  go  to  seek 
mixed  wine."  (Prov.  23.29-30.)  Intoxicating  wine 
is  evil,  only  evil,  and  that  continually. 

(/)  It  is  associated  with  revolting  crimes.  Noah's 
shameful  exposure  of  his  person,  Lot's  incest  with  his 
daughters,  Nabal's  unnatural  selfishness,  Ahashuerus' 
drinking  feast,  and  the  divorcement  of  Queen  Vashti 
that  grew  out  of  it,  Belshazzar's  drunken  revelings  in 
his  palace,  which  brought  the  handwriting  upon  the 
wall  recording  the  doom  of  Babylon — all  are  so  many 
blazing  torches  thrown  out  against  the  night  of  intem- 
perance, warning  us  of  the  dangerous  rock — alcohol. 
Total  abstinence  is  the  only  hope  of  the  drunkard.  It 
is  the  only  safety  of  the  temperate  man.  It  is  a  duty 
enforced  by  Nature's  commands,  promises,  threaten- 
ings,  and  it  is  engrossed  in  precept,  reward  and  penalty 
in  the  word  of  God.  Dr.  McArthur  eloquently  said: 
"Not  Sherman,  not  Grant,  not  Lincoln,  destroyed 
slavery,  except  as  they  were  God's  instruments  in  ac- 
complishing his  great  purposes.  The  gospel  of  the 


TEMPERANCE  REFORM.  171 

Son  of  God  made  the  emancipation  proclamation  pos- 
sible. Back  of  the  hand  that  wrote  it  was  a  hand 
bearing  the  print  of  a  nail  in  its  palm — a  hand  that 
once  was  nailed  to  the  cross.  That  gospel  says,  with 
a  profound  meaning,  whether  a  man  be  black  or  white, 
red  or  yellow,  rich  or  poor,  bond  or  free,  'A  man's  a 
man  for  a'  that.'  That  same  gospel  will  strike  down 
the  other  monster — alcohol.  He  is  a  worse  tyrant 
than  slavery — he  enslaves  body  and  soul,  and  destroys 
both  in  a  drunkard's  hell.  The  great  principles  of 
God's  book,  the  divine  maxims  for  human  conduct, 
teach  us  how  to  regard  the  drunkard,  and  how  to  ab- 
stain for  the  sake  of  our  own  safety,  for  the  sake  of 
our  example,  which  might  hurt  the  weak,  and  for  the 
sake  of  our  divine  Lord's  glory,  which  this  curse  does 
so  much  to  tarnish."  It  is  time  to  emphasize  the  duty 
of  total  abstinence-  "Take  heed  to  thyself." 

PROHIBITION. 

III.  Prohibition  on  the  part  of  the  State.  Three 
remedies  have  been  proposed  for  the  liquor  crime — 
low  license,  high  license,  or  tax,  and  prohibition.  The 
first  means  free  whisky;  the  second  gives  respectability 
to  the  iniquity  and  intrenches  it  behind  the  Govern- 
ment. Dr.  Herrick  Johnson  has  put  the  Christian 
world  under  obligation  to  him  by  his  aphorism:  "Low 
license  means  the  saloons  asking  for  your  sons;  high 
license  means  asking  for  your  daughters  also."  As 
Joseph  Cook  passed  a  six-story  building  in  Philadel- 
phia, brilliantly  lighted  and  bands  playing  within,  he 
asked  his  companion:  "What  is  this?"  "A  saloon." 


172  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

"What  is  on  the  second  floor?"  "The  parlors  where 
the  ladies  drink."  "What  is  on  the  third  and  fourth 
floors?"  "Gambling  dens."  "What  is  on  the  two 
upper  stories?"  "You  had  better  not  ask.  Their 
deeds  are  unreportable."  That  is,  a  high-licensed  sa- 
loon. 

The  following  from  the  New  York  Witness  on  "That 
Silver  Dollar  Saloon"  is  suggestive:  "Charley  Smith, 
who  has  been  a  Republican  Assemblyman  from  this 
city  for  several  terms,  had  a  grand  opening  of  his  new 
saloon  last  week,  which  was  honored  (?)  by  the  pres- 
ence of  three  Congressmen,  one  State  Senator,  three 
Assemblymen,  one  Civil  Justice  and  several  Alder- 
men. The  Surfs  description  of  this  palatial  gin-mill 
shows  that  Mr.  Smith  understands  how  to  advertise 
his  new  venture  by  making  it  an  object  of  curiosity: 
'In  every  stone  in  the  white  marble  floor  are  two  silver 
dollars  bearing  the  date  of  1887,  and  in  the  center  of 
the  floor,  in  front  of  the  bar,  is  a  black  marble  stone 
with  a  twenty-dollar  gold  piece  in  the  center  and  nine- 
teen one-dollar  silver  pieces  around  it.  Overhead  in 
the  ceiling  are  three  medallions,  serving  as  centers  of 
three  chandeliers,  made  of  ground  glass  and  represent- 
ing silver  dollars.  On  the  back  bar  is  a  chandelier 
which  has  $$oo  worth  of  silver  dollars  on  it.  There 
is,  besides,  on  the  back  bar  a  star  and  crescent  a  foot 
high,  covered  with  silver  pieces  from  a  dime  to  a  dol- 
lar. The  wine  decanters  are  in  the  shape  of  silver 
dollars.  On  the  wall  are  pictures  of  the  members  of 
the  Assembly  when  ex- Assembly  man  Smith  was  a 
member  of  the  Legislature  himself. '  "  The  Witness 


TEMPERANCE  REFORM.  -        173 

properly  designates  it,  "this  new  and  ornamental  gate- 
way into  the  kingdom  of  darkness. " 

Experience  demonstrates  that  as  a  liquor  measure 
it  is  a  success;  as  a  temperance  measure  it  is  a  failure. 
The  third  is  prohibition.  The  children  of  Israel  were 
required  to  build  battlements  to  the  roofs  of  their 
houses,  and  if  any  casualty  occurred  from  neglecting 
this,  the  owner  was  held  responsible — eye  for  eye, 
hand  for  hand,  life  for  life.  Prohibition  is  the  battle- 
ment that  the  State  must  build  to  our  national  temple. 
And  so  long  as  the  State  fails  to  do  this,  it  is  responsi- 
ble for  the  evils  of  the  liquor  traffic. 

1 .  The  State,  as  the  guardian  of  public  rights,  should 
prohibit   the   liquor  traffic.     The   old  Roman  maxim 
was:  "The  public  safety  is  supreme  law." 

The  State  forbids  the  carrying  of  concealed  weapons 
on  the  ground  that  the  public  safety  is  endangered 
thereby.  The  erection  of  noisome  vitriol  works  or 
powder  magazines  within  the  city  limits  is  prohibited 
for  the  same  reason.  The  liquor  traffic  endangers  the 
life  and  property  of  the  people.  It  should  be  out- 
lawed. The  rights  of  the  individual  are  limited  by  the 
rights  of  society.  There  is  no  "personal  liberty"  to 
trample  upon  the  rights  of  others.  The  State  quaran- 
tines against  contagious  diseases.  There  should  be  a 
perpetual  quarantine  against  the  disease  of  drunken- 
ness. 

2.  As  the    guardian    of  the  nation's    resources  the 
State    should    prohibit.      The    State  of   Ohio  collects 
$2,000,000  tax  annually  from  the  saloon  by  the  Dow 
law.     But   the  saloon  costs  the  commonwealth  about 


174  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

$76,000,000  per  year.  Why  not  save  the  $68,000,000? 
The  general  government  has  gone  into  the  liquor  busi- 
ness. Every  gallon  of  whisky  sells  for  $1.10.  On 
this  the  government  collects  .90  revenue.  So  that  for 
the  sake  of  $95,000,000  revenue  per  year  the  govern- 
ment has  gone  into  the  liquor  business  nine-elevenths 
partner. 

When  the  Scotch  Privy  Council  resolved  that  the 
ecclesiastical  revenue  should  be  divided  into  three 
parts,  "that  two  of  these  should  be  given  to  the  ejected 
popish  clergy  and  the  third  part  should  be  divided  be- 
tween the  court  and  the  Protestant  ministry,"  John 
Knox  exclaimed:  "I  see  two  parts  freely  given  to  the 
devil,  and  the  third  part  must  be  divided  betwixt  God 
and  the  devil. "  A  worse  bargain  than  that  is  made 
here.  But  the  liquor  traffic* costs  our  nation  $1,500,- 
000,000  annually.  O,  for  statesmen  who  could  rise 
up  to  a  moral  plane  where  they  could  say:  "Save  the 
$1,405,000,000!"  A  traffic  that  impoverishes  the 
people  and  wastes  our  resources  should  be  destroyed. 
Nero  fired  the  city  of  Rome  and  then  sat  at  his  palace 
window  and  played  the  fiddle  while  the  destruction  of 
life  and  property  went  on.  History  execrates  him. 
Our  government  has  turned  loose  the  flames  of  alcohol 
and  then  plays  the  fiddle  to  the  tune  of  $95,000,000 
revenue  a  year  while  the  ruinous  work  goes  on.  Shall 
this  be  suffered  to  continue? 

3.  The  State,  as  the  divinely  appointed  agent  for 
punishing  crime,  should  prohibit.  The  sea-devil  is  the 
terror  of  the  fishermen.  It  comes  up  under  their  boat 
and  throws  its  arms  over  the  sides  and  carries  all  down 


TEMPERANCE  REFORM.  175 

with  it.  There  is  only  one  remedy — to  take  the 
hatchet  and  chop  off  those  arms;  and  that  must  be 
done  at  once.  The  liquor  traffic  is  the  sea-devil  in  the 
waters  of  society.  The  saloons  are  the  arms  it  has 
thrown  over  the  sides  of  the  ship  of  state.  The  only 
remedy  is  to  take  the  hatchet  of  the  law  and  cut  them 
off.  This  must  be  done  immediately.  Either  we  must 
destroy  the  liquor  traffic  or  it  will  destroy  us.  It  is  a 
gigantic  thief  and  should  be  put  behind  the  walls  of 
prohibition.  It  is  a  monster  murderer,  and  should  be 
arrested  and  executed.  It  poisons  the  life  of  the  fam- 
ily, the  church  and  the  nation,  and  should  be  banished 
from  the  land.  It  breaks  and  tramples  under  foot 
every  precept  of  the  decalogue,  and  should  be  de- 
stroyed outright.  "Rulers  are  not  a  terror  to  good 
works,  but  to  the  evil.  He  is  a  revenger  to  execute 
wrath  upon  him  that  doeth  evil." 

Senator  Ingalls  said  in  his  recent  address:  "Wendell 
Phillips,  Lloyd  Garrison  and  Lovejoy  were  as  right  in 
1850  as  they  were  in  1860,  but  their  appeals  fell  upon 
deaf  ears  in  the  land  of  the  Puritans.  They  were 
mobbed,  despitefully  treated,  reviled  and  outlawed  by 
the  highest  social  classes.  The  conscience  of  New  En- 
gland was  never  thoroughly  aroused  to  the  immorality 
of  African  slavery  until  it  ceased  to  be  profitable,  and 
the  North  did  not  finally  determine  to  destroy  the 
system  until  convinced  that  its  continuance  threatened 
not  only  their  industrial  independence  but  their  polit- 
ical supremacy. " 

When  slavery  murdered  Lovejoy  and  John  Brown, 
its  doom  was  sealed.  The  liquor  traffic  has  resorted 


1 76  RE  FORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

to  murder.  Dr.  Me  Arthur,  waxing  indignant,  said: 
"It  does  not  hesitate  at  murder  as  one  of  its  instru- 
ments. It  is  but  a  little  time  since,  in  the  brave  pro- 
hibition State  of  Iowa,  the  saloon  took  the  life-blood 
of  the  noble  Haddock,  a  Methodist  minister,  a  devoted 
servant  of  God,  and  an  inspired  enemy  of  the  saloon. 
It  is  but  yesterday  since  another  man,  in  the  great 
State  of  Mississippi,  the  son  of  an  aged  Baptist  minis- 
ter, and  the  chivalrous  editor  of  a  temperance  journal, 
a  man  who  dared  to  tell  the  truth  regarding  the  saloon, 
was  shot  down  like  an  animal,  because  of  his  faithful- 
ness to  right  and  his  exposure  of  wrong.  It  is  but  a 
little  time  since,  in  the  great  State  of  Ohio,  a  church 
was  partly  shattered  by  dynamite  while  a  crowded 
audience  was  present  listening  to  an  address  on  tem- 
perance and  against  the  saloon."  It  is  time  to  put 
down  the  liquor  traffic. 

Mr.  Cook  said:  "You  can  fool  all  the  people  some 
of  the  time.  You  can  fool  some  people  all  the  time, 
but  you  can't  fool  all  the  people  all  the  time.  The 
chief  mischiefs  in  the  respectable  circles  are,  so  far  as 
the  temperance  reform  is  concerned,  poltroonery  and 
procrastination.  In  the  name  of  the  poltroonery  that 
preceded  the  abolition  of  slavery,  I  ask  you  to  take 
courage  and  trample  on  the  poltroonery  in  dealing 
with  the  liquor  traffic.  Just  as  you  saw  it  your  duty 
to  refuse  to  vote  for  any  party  that  was  on  its  knees  to 
the  slavery  power,  so  I  say  in  the  name  of  God  refuse 
to  vote  for  any  party  that  is  on  its  knees  to  the  whisky 
ring." 

4,   As  the  guardian  of  the  home,  the  State  should 


TEMPERANCE  REFORM.  .       177 

prohibit.  The  Greeks  fought  for  twenty  years  before 
Troy  in  the  interests  of  the  home.  Rome  fell  because 
she  did  not  guard  the  home.  The  liquor  traffic  is 
winding  its  coils  about  the  home  like  the  serpents  of 
Laocoon,  and  crushing  out  its  life.  The  serpent's 
head  must  be  crushed.  The  home  must  be  delivered 
from  this  enemy  or  the  whole  nation  will  be  ruined. 

5.  As  the  guardian  of  the  nation's  honor,  the  State 
should  prohibit.  Yonder,  near  Boston,  a  firm  has  en- 
gaged to  send  3,000  gallons  of  whisky  daily  for  seven 
years  to  the  Congo.  General  Fisk  tells  of  a  ship  lately 
leaving  Boston  harbor  with  missionaries  for  the  Congo. 
The  Ladies'  Missionary  Society  held  a  prayer-meeting 
on  deck  to  encourage  the  hearts  of  their  departing 
friends.  And  while  they  were  singing  hymns  the  hus- 
band of  the  lady  who  was  conducting  the  meeting  was 
down  in  the  hold  of  the  ship  storing  away  the  barrels 
of  whisky  which  he  was  sending  to  the  Congo.  The 
wife  sending  the  messengers  of  life,  the  husband  send- 
ing the  instruments  of  death  on  the  same  ship  to  the 
Congo!  And  more  would  be  ruined  by  the  latter 
than  could  be  reached  by  the  former.  Mrs.  Clara 
Hoffman  said:  "We  heard  about  the  Congo.  When 
other  great  powers  of  the  world  were  willing  to  enter 
into  an  international  compact  that  no  dynamite,  no 
fire-arms,  no  liquor  should  be  sent  to  the  Free  State 
of  Congo  and  to  the  islands  of  the  sea  and  to  other 
parts  of  Africa,  who  refused  to  enter  into  that  com- 
pact? England?  No.  And  England  is  not  Christian 
enough  to  hurt  her,  France?  No.  And  France 
never  was  called  consecrated.  Russia?  No.  And 


178  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

Russia  is  counted  only  semi  civilized.  Belgium? 
Drunken  as  she  is,  no.  Who  refused?  America  re- 
fused. The  American  government  said:  'We  can't  do 
it;  we  can't  do  it.'  ' 

The  saloon  vote  is  solid  for  the  party  that  favors 
them.  Take  this  fact:  "In  Toledo,  with  90,000  popu- 
lation, there  are  800  whisky  and  beer  shops.  The 
vote  of  the  city  is  15,000.  Now,  these  shops  will  av- 
erage two  votes  each,  the  proprietor  and  one  assistant, 
which  makes  a  total  of  1 ,600.  This  is  a  tremendous 
power,  especially  as  it  is  wielded  by  one  head.  All 
these  men  belong  to  the  Liquor  Dealers'  Association, 
and  act  together."  This  is  true  of  every  large  city. 
New  York  has  40,000  liquor  votes  subject  to  one 
head.  There  are  600,000  such  in  the  United  States. 
Counting  their  camp-followers,  they  have  a  solid  vote 
of  1,000,000.  This  is  the  secret  of  the  Richmond  sa- 
loon-keeper's scornful  declaration:  "Any  bar-room  in 
Richmond  is  a  bigger  man  in  politics  than  all  the 
churches  in  Richmond  put  together."  A  leading 
United  States  Senator  was  thinking  of  this  when  he 
said:  "Men  talk  about  the  power  of  banks,  railroads, 
and  other  great  corporations  in  Congressional  lobbies; 
I  tell  you  the  hardest  ring  to  stand  up  against  is  the 
liquor  ring." 

How  long  shall  we  submit  to  this  dishonor?  The 
liquor  traffic  has  no  right  to  exist.  Our  brewers,  dis- 
tillers and  saloon-keepers  are  criminals.  Lord  Ches- 
terfield, that  cool-headed  statesman,  calls  them  "artists 
in  human  slaughter."  When  Mohammed  returned  to 
Mecca,  eight  years  after  the  hegira,  he  saw  360  idols  set 


TEMPERANCE  REFORM.  179 

up  in  the  city,  and,  pointing  to  them  with  his  sword,  he 
said:  "Truth  is  come.  Let  falsehood  be  abolished." 
So  let  this  government  point  to  the  248,992  saloons  in 
America  and  say:  "Truth  has  come.  Let  iniquity  be 
abolished."  Prohibition  prohibits  in  our  peniten- 
tiaries. Prohibition  prohibited  in  the  White  House 
for  four  years  under  the  hand  of  Mrs.  R.  B.  Hayes. 
Prohibition  prohibits  in  Maine  and  Kansas.  And  pro- 
hibition will  ultimately  prohibit  in  every  State  in  the 
Union. 

Miss  Frances  E.  Willard  carried  the  white  flag  of 
prohibition  to  the  Republican  National  Convention, 
and  they  rejected  it.  She  carried  it  to  the  Democratic 
National  Convention,  and  they  rejected  it.  She  car- 
ried it  to  the  Prohibition  National  Convention,  and 
they  received  it.  And  there  it  will  abide  until  some 
party  shall  carry  it  to  Washington  and  place  it  in  the 
hand  of  the  Statue  of  Liberty  on  the  Capitol,  and 
where  it  will  remain  forever. 

We  have  no  harsh  terms  to  apply  to  the  old  parties. 
The  Democratic  party  has  vindicated  the  rights  of  the 
States  and  given  us  prohibition  in  the  South.  The 
Republican  party  has  freed  the  slaves,  maintained  our 
national  unity,  and  given  us  a  currency  that  floats  on 
a  par  with  gold  the  world  over.  But  the  first  espouses 
low  license  and  the  second  high  license  in  the  North. 
The  Republican  party  reminds  me  of  Lincoln's  story. 
When  a  man  came  to  him  and  wanted  him  to  give  a 
certain  general  advice  in  the  war,  he  said:  "I  am  not 
up  in  military  tactics.  I  let  my  generals  do  it  their 
own  way."  Then  after  a  moment  he  said:  "I  like  a 


180  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES, 

strong  ox.  But  when  he  gets  hung  on  a  fence  he  is 
trying  to  jump,  so  that  he  can  not  hook  or  kick,  he  is  in 
a  bad  predicament."  That  is  the  position  of  the  Re- 
publican party.  It  is  on  the  fence.  For  twenty  years 
it  has  been  saying  to  its  voters  who  have  a  conscience: 
"Only  vote  with  us  this  time  and  then  we  will  take  up 
the  liquor  question."  It  is  well  put  by  Neal  Dow. 
A  man  had  a  trained  dog.  He  held  up  a  cracker  and 
said  to  the  dog  to  roll  over  and  he  would  give  it  to 
him.  When  the  dog  rolled  over  and  looked  up  for  his 
reward  he  ordered  him  to  repeat  it.  After  the  dog 
had  rolled  over  twenty  times  he  put  the  cracker  in  his 
pocket.  His  friend  said:  "Are  you  not  going  to  give 
him  the  cracker?"  "Oh,  no,"  he  said;  "it  will  do  for 
another  time."  The  time  has  come  for  these  empty 
promises  to  cease.  Moral  questions  are  to  the  front 
and  must  be  settled.  The  party  that  declares  for  the 
destruction  of  the  liquor  traffic,  the  preservation  of  the 
Sabbath,  a  uniform  national  divorce  law,  equal  rights 
to  all  our  citizens,  the  purification  of  the  ballot,  and 
moral  civil  service  reform,  is  the  party  that  will  be 
called  to  guide  the  ship  of  state  in  the  future.  Provi- 
dence has  given  our  nation  a  high  calling.  The  words  of 
Alexander  Hamilton  are  true:  "It  is  ours  to  be  either 
the  grave  in  which  the  hopes  of  the  world  shall  be  en- 
tombed, or  the  pillar  of  cloud  that  shall  pilot  the  race 
on  to  its  millennial  glory.  Let  us  not  forget  our  im- 
mortal trust." 

IV.  Leadership  on  the  part  of  the  Church,  There 
are  four  possible  positions  for  the  Church. 

I.    Opposition.     This   does   not  represent  the  atti- 


TEMPERANCE  REFORM.  .  181 

tude  of  the  Church.     Some  of  her  members  are  op- 
posed to  the  movement,  but  the  Church  is  not. 

2.  Indifference.     For  various  reasons  there  is  much 
indifference  on  the  part  of  many  of  her  members,  but 
the  Church  is  deeply  interested.     The  red-faced  man 
in  Dickens  who  sighed   for  the  good   old  times,  the 
grand  old  times,  has  his  counterpart  to-day.     But  the 
former  days  were  not  better  than  these.     In  the  even- 
ing the  boys  used  to  say:     "It  is  time  for  worship  and 
toddy."     But  where  is  the  Christian  home  now  where 
this  is  true? 

3.  Co-operation.     Many  years  ago  the  whisky  jug 
was  a  necessity  in  the  harvest- field,  the  decanter  at  the 
feast,  and  the  bottle  for  the  casual  meeting.     When 
the  light  became  more  intense,  church  members  drank 
on  the  sly.     Deacon  Jones  would  visit  Elder  Smith. 
After  chatting  awhile,  Elder  Smith  would  say  to  his 
little  girl  who  had  been  listening  to  them,     "Mary,  I 
think  your  mother  wants  you  in  the  kitchen."     Then 
he  goes  to  the  cupboard,  opens  the  door,  takes  down 
a  black  bottle  and   fills  the   glass.     After  they  have 
drank  he  puts  it  away,  and  when  his  wife  comes  in 
they  look  as  pious  as  if  they  had  been  singing  psalms. 
But  that  day  is  past.     And  although  a  few  good  men 
like  Dr.  Crosby  insist  on  taking  a  glass  of  good  wine 
when  they  like,  the  Church  looks  down  upon  it.     The 
Church  is  co-operating. 

4.  Leadership.     This    is   her    normal   position.     If 
Confucianism  made  China  a  temperate  nation;  if  Budd- 
hism made  India  a  temperate  nation;  if  Mohammed- 
anism made  the   countries   of  Islam   temperate,  then 


182  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

Christianity  will  make  America  temperate.  The  Church 
met  Rome  Pagan  in  the  early  Christian  centuries,  and 
after  three  centuries'  righting,  Paganism  went  down  and 
Christianity  ascended  the  throne  of  the  Csesars.  In 
the  middle  ages  the  Church  met  Rome  Papal,  and  after 
ten  centuries  the  Papacy  was  driven  back  and  Protest- 
antism started  upon  a  new  career.  The  Church  drew 
her  sword  against  the  slave  system  in  this  land  and 
prevailed.  And  shall  she  quail  before  the  liquor  traffic? 
The  decree  has  gone  forth.  The  Church  must  arise, 
contend,  conquer  and  triumph. 

In  the  battle  of  Lodi,  May  10,  1790,  Napoleon  drove 
the  Austrians  over  the  Adda.  Their  batteries,  how- 
ever, still  commanded  the  bridge  which  spanned  the 
river.  In  the  face  of  the  cannon,  Napoleon  ordered 
his  columns  to  cross  the  bridge.  "It  is  impossible 
to  pass  those  batteries,"  said  Marshal  McDonald. 
"'Impossible'  is  not  in  the  French  dictionary,"  replied 
Napoleon;  "Forward,  march!"  And  seizing  a  banner, 
he  rushed  upon  the  bridge.  His  men  followed  with  a 
shout,  and  a  victory  was  won  which  secured  for  him 
the  possession  of  Lombardy.  Such  courageous  lead- 
ers are  needed  in  the  sacramental  host.  One  man 
filled  with  such  invincible  enthusiasm  could  chase  a 
thousand,  and  two  could  put  ten  thousand  to  flight. 

If  the  churches  in  Cincinnati  decreed  it,  the  saloon 
would  go  before  one  week.  If  the  churches  in  the 
United  States  ordered  it,  the  saloon  would  be  driven 
into  the  deep  sea  before  one  month.  But  the  trouble 
is,  they  do  not  say  it.  They  are  like  the  men  of 
Gadara,  afraid  of  losing  their  political  pigs.  Shame, 


TEMPERANCE  REFORM.  _-     183 

that  pigs  should  be  valued  more  than  men  and  princi- 
ple! Let  the  Church  come  forward.  The  kingdom  is 
hers.  She  must  go  in  and  possess  it.  Napoleon  said 
to  his  soldiers  as  they  approached  the  pyramids  of 
Egypt:  "Forty  centuries  look  down  upon  you."  Sixty 
centuries  are  looking  down  upon  the  Church  in  Amer- 
ica. May  she  be  faithful.  Swing  the  lamps,  break 
the  pitchers,  and  shout,  "The  sword  of  the  Lord  and 
of  Gideon!"  Farrar  speaks  of  Turner's  magnificent 
picture  of  "The  Slaver."  The  slave-ship  was  being 
chased  by  a  British  frigate,  and  was  throwing  her 
slaves  overboard  into  the  trough  of  the  encrimsoned 
sea,  and  her  cruel  spars  stood  out  black  against  the 
burning  sky.  As  he  stood  gazing  intently  upon  the 
picture,  a  friend  looking  over  his  shoulder  said :  " That 
is  Turner's  sermon  against  the  slave-trade."  We  want 
such  sermons  against  the  liquor  traffic.  Let  the  eighty 
thousand  pulpits  in  this  land  proclaim  the  truth. 
Slavery  fell  before  the  truth  fearlessly  spoken,  and  the 
liquor  traffic  will  also  fall  before  it. 

Eschylus  wrote  much  and  was  justly  famous  as  a 
leader  of  thought.  This,  however,  he  regarded  as  a 
matter  of  small  importance;  but  he  boasted  that  he 
had  fought  at  Marathon.  By  and  by  men  will  see  that 
the  only  circumstance  in  human  life  worthy  of  emphasis 
is  the  fact  that  a  man  has  been  engaged  in  the  great 
battle  for  truth  and  righteousness. 


CHAPTER    XL 


THE   MEDIATORIAL  DOMINION  OF  CHRIST. 

Christ's  .dominion  is  twofold,  absolute  and  official. 
As  God,  he  always  possessed  unlimited  power.  That 
power  is  inherent,  necessary  and  underived.  It  can 
not  be  increased,  diminished  or  nullified.  But  as  God- 
man,  his  authority  is  official  and  delegated.  In  the 
economy  of  redemption  the  Father  sits  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  Triune  God.  He  is  sovereign.  This 
sovereignty  is  not  an  attribute  of  his  nature,  but  a  pre- 
rogative of  his  person.  It  is  universal,  absolute  and 
immutable.  He  appoints,  he  commands,  he  requires, 
he  supports,  he  accepts,  he  rewards.  The  Son  vol- 
untarily became  the  official  subordinate  of  the  Father. 
He  is  the  "righteous  servant"  of  Jehovah.  The 
Father  appointed  him  universal  ruler.  This  official  or 
delegated  power  is  his  mediatorial  dominion. 

The  people  of  God  can  never  sufficiently  appreciate 
this  office.  It  is  the  strong  pillar  which  upholds  the 
whole  mediatorial  work.  It  is  the  corner-stone  of  the 
Church's  foundation.  It  is  the  sine  qua  non  of  the 
prophetic  and  pontific  offices.  It  is  the  golden  key 
that  unlocks  the  whole  system  of  revealed  truth.  In 
the  Garden  of  Eden  he  was  revealed  to  the  first  guilty 
pair  as  a  king  treading  upon  the  neck  of  his  enemy. 
The  seed  of  the  woman  shall  bruise  the  serpent's  head. 


MEDIATORIAL  DOMINION  OF  CHRIST.        ^     185 

Melchizedec  revealed  him  as  a  priest  upon  his  throne, 
Moses  as  law-giver,  David  as  a  conquering  king, 
and  Solomon  as  a  universal  and  glorious  king.  Jacob 
saw  him  as  king:  "The  scepter  shall  not  depart 
from  Judah  until  the  Shilo  come."  Balaam  prophe- 
sied: "There  shall  come  a  star  out  of  Jacob,  and  a 
scepter  shall  rise  out  of  Israel."  His  advent  is  an- 
nounced as  the  coming  of  the  Church's  king:  "Rejoice 
greatly,  O  daughter  of  Zion;  shout,  O  daughter  of 
Jerusalem;  behold,  thy  King  cometh  unto  thee." 
Her  members  are  invited  to  behold  the  excellencies  of 
their  king:  "Go  forth,  O  ye  daughters  of  Zion,  and 
behold  King  Solomon  with  the  crown  wherewith  his 
mother  crowned  him  in  the  day  of  his  espousal,  in  the 
day  of  the  gladness  of  his  heart. "  He  is  graciously 
discovered  to  the  believing  heart  as  king:  "Thine  eyes 
shall  see  the  king  in  his  beauty."  The  saints  are  re- 
quired to  exult  in  their  king:  "Let  the  children  of 
Zion  be  joyful  in  their  king."  The  believer  is  over- 
whelmed with  his  manifestation  as  king:  "Woe  is  me! 
for  I  am  undone;  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  the  King, 
the  Lord  of  Hosts."  The  star-led  magi  asked:  "Where 
is  he  that  is  born  king  of  the  Jews?"  Nathaniel  con- 
fessed: "Thou  art  the  king  of  Israel."  He  confessed 
himself  a  king  before  Pontius  Pilate:  "To  this  end  was 
I  born  and  for  this  cause  came  I  into  the  world,  that  I 
might  bear  witness  unto  the  truth."  The  Church  cel- 
ebrates his  ascension  as  a  triumphal  entrance  into  his 
capital:  "Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye  gates,  and  be  ye 
lifted  up,  ye  everlasting  doors,  and  the  King  of  Glory 
shall  come  in."  And  in  heaven  he  sits  upon  the  great 


186  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

white  thrown  receiving  the  homage  of  the  whole  uni- 
verse:  "Worthy  is  the  Lamb!" 

I.  His  authoritative  investiture  with  royal  preroga- 
tives.    "Gave   him  to   be  head."     "There  was  given 
unto  him   dominion   and  glory  and   a  kingdom."     "I 
appoint  unto  you  a  kingdom,  as  my  Father  hath  ap- 
pointed unto  me."     By  the  "decree"  of  Jehovah,  he 
was  formally  appointed  "king"  in  the  councils  of  eter- 
nity when  the  covenant  of  grace  was  ratified.     "I  have 
made  a  covenant  with  my  chosen,  I  have  sworn  unto 
David  my  servant,  thy  seed  will  I  establish  forever, 
and    build  up    thy  throne   to   all   generations."     The 
"Ruler  in  Israel"  had  his  "goings  forth  from  of  old, 
from   everlasting."     "I  was    set  up  from  everlasting, 
from  the  beginning,  or  ever  the  earth  was."     In  the 
fullness  of  time  his  appointment  was  publicly  acknowl- 
edged in  the  unction  of  the  Holy  Spirit  at  the  Jordan: 
"God,  thy   God,  hath   annointed  thee  with  the  oil  of 
gladness    above    thy    fellows."     The    authority   with 
which  he  was  thus  invested  made  all  his  garments  to 
"smell  of  myrrh  and  aloes  and  cassia,  out  of  the  ivory 
palaces."     But  it  was  in  his  coronation  that  his  regal 
power  was  openly  and  formally  recognized.     Then  "he 
sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of  the  majesty  on  high," 
"far  above  all  principality  and  power,  and  might,  and 
dominion,  and  every  name  that  is  named,  not  only  in 
this  world,  but  in  that  which  is  to  come,"  "a  scepter 
of  righteousness"   was   placed  in  his   right  hand,  "a 
crown  of  pure  gold"  was  set  upon  his  brow,  "thousand 
thousands  ministered  unto  him,  ten  thousand  times  ten 
thousand   stood    before    him."     His    "chariots    were 


MEDIATORIAL  DOMINION  OF  CHRIST.      .        187 

twenty  thousand,  even  thousands  of  angels;"  on  his 
vesture  and  on  his  thigh  a  name  was  written,  King  of 
kings  and  Lord  of  lords,  and  the  whole  universe  was 
made  to  ring  with  the  loud  acclaim:  "Worthy  is  the 
Lamb!"  All  this  is  attested  by  unimpeachable  wit- 
nesses. The  Father  deposeth,  "yet  have  I  set  rrty 
king  upon  the  holy  hill  of  Zion."  The  Son  himself 
testified:  "All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and 
in  earth."  The  spirit  of  prophecy,  which  "is  the  tes- 
timony of  Jesus,"  deposeth:  "I  beheld  in  the  night 
visions,  and  behold,  one  like  the  Son  of  Man  came 
with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  came  to  the  Ancient 
of  days,  and  they  brought  him  near  before  him,  and 
there  was  given  him  dominion,  and  glory  and  a  king- 
dom, that  all  people,  nations  and  languages  should 
serve  him.  His  dominion  is  an  everlasting  dominion 
which  shall  not  pass  away,  and  his  kingdom  that  which 
shall  not  be  destroyed. "  The  apostles  concur  in  this 
evidence:  "God  hath  highly  exalted  him,  and  given 
him  a  name  which  is  above  every  name."  "And  every 
creature  which  is  in  heaven,  and  on  earth,  and  under 
the  earth,  and  such  as  are  in  the  sea,  and  all  that  in 
them  are,''  are  heard  saying,  "blessing,  and  honor, 
and  glory,  and  power  be  unto  him  that  sitteth  "upon 
the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb  forever  and  ever!" 
What  need  we  any  further  witness?  Such  united, 
harmonious  and  unequivocal  testimony  sets  the  matter 
forever  at  rest.  It  is  our  king  who  speaks.  His  voice 
is  full  of  majesty.  Let  all  the  earth  keep  silence  be- 
fore him. 

The  Greeks  had  a  fable  concerning  the  island  of  the 


188  REFORMATION-  PRINCIPLES. 

Sirens.  They  located  it  near  the  southwestern  coast 
of  Italy.  There  were  two  or  three  female  musicians 
upon  it,  whose  strains  enchanted  all  who  came  by,  and 
when  allured  to  land,  were  at  once  made  victims. 
When  Ulysses  went  by  he  filled  the  ears  of  his  Argo- 
nauts with  wax,  and  lashed  himself  to  the  mast.  •  He 
heard  the  music  and  wished  to  land,  but  could  not. 
The  rest  heard  not  and  so  passed  on.  When  Orpheus 
went  by,  the  music  of  whose  lyre  enchanted  not  only 
beasts,  but  rocks  and  trees,  he  produced  so  much  bet- 
ter music  than  the  sirens  that  no  one  desired  to  land. 
They  had  better  music  on  board. 

Ulysses  is  the  moralist  lashed  to  the  post  of  duty  by 
the  thongs  of  a  strong  resolution.  He  hears  the  music 
of  worldly  temptation  and  wants  to  yield,  but  his  res- 
olution holds  him.  Orpheus  is  the  Christian  with  bet- 
ter music  in  his  soul.  The  love  of  Christ  constraineth 
him.  The  first  has  a  name  to  live  while  he  is  dead. 
The  second  has  Christ  formed  in  his  heart  the  hope  of 
glory.  "For  me  to  live  is  Christ." 

The  National  Reform  Association  proposes  to  enlist 
a  band  in  whose  souls  the  music  of  loyalty  to  Jesus  has 
complete  mastery,  and  by  and  by  we  will  have  the 
soul  of  this  great  nation  converted  into  a  lyre,  which, 
struck  by  the  plectrum  of  the  mediatorial  scepter,  sends 
forth  the  sweetest  strains  of  loyalty  to  King  Jesus. 
"Blessed  is  the  nation  whose  God  is  the  Lord." 

"Love  took  up  the  harp  of  life 
And  smote  on  all  the  chords  with  might; 
Smote  the  chord  of  self,  which,  trembling, 
Passed  in  music  out  of  sight." 


MEDIATORIAL  DOMINION  OF  CHRIST.  189 

II.  The  character  and  essence  of  the  mediatorial  do- 
minion. It  is  not  an  earthly  and  temporal,  but  a  spir- 
itual and  eternal  kingdom.  "My  kingdom  is  not  of 
this  world."  It  is  spiritual  in  its  origin,  "the  kingdom 
of  heaven;"  in  its  subjects,  "ye  are  not  of  this  world;" 
in  its  laws,  "the  law  is  spiritual;"  in  its  end,  "the  king- 
dom of  God  is  not  meat  and  drink,  but  righteousness, 
and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  H'oly  Ghost;  and  in  its  ^ad- 
ministration,  "not  by  might,  nor  by  power,  but  by  my 
Spirit,  saith  the  Lord."  Its  officers  are  spiritual,  for 
they  are  clothed  not  with  magistratical,  but  ministerial 
authority.  They  bear  not  the  "sword,"  but  "the  keys 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  Its  army  is  spiritual, 
"good  soldiers  of  the  cross  of  Christ."  Its  weapons 
of  warfare,  offensive  and  defensive,  are  spiritual:  the 
Bible,  the  sharp  two-edged  sword,  which  proceedeth 
out  of  his  mouth,  who  is  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  ar- 
rows of  the  king  which  pierce  the  hearts  of  his  ene- 
mies; the  cross,  "the  power  of  God  and  the  wisdom  of 
God;"  and  the  immaculate  life  of  him  whose  meat 
and  whose  drink  it  was  "to  do  the  will  of  him  that 
sent  Him."  "The  weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not 
carnal,  but  mighty  through  God  to  the  pulling  down 
of  strongholds."  And  its  sphere  is  the  heart  and  con- 
science; "the  kingdom  of  God  is  within  you." 

We  are  not  to  suppose  from  this  that  the  dominion 
of  the  reigning  Mediator  is  limited  to  his  covenant 
people.  His  kingdom  is  in  the  world,  though  not  of 
it,  and  is  capable  of  being  affected  favorably  or  unfa- 
vorably by  earthly  and  temporal  powers;  therefore  he 
has  been  made  "Head  over  all  things  to  his  Church." 


190  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

The  purpose  for  which  this  universal  power  is  exer- 
cised determines  its  character.  Its  object  is  spiritual, 
"to  his  Church."  It  follows  accordingly  that  his  un- 
limited dominion  is  spiritual.  When  Solomon  was 
building  the  temple  upon  Mount  Moriah,  he  had 
hewers  of  wood  felling  and  transporting  cedars  from 
the  forests  of  Lebanon;  stone-cutters  in  the  quarries 
of  the  vale  shaping  and  fitting  every  block  of  marble 
for  its  place  in  the  walls;  artificers  making  castings  in 
the  plain  of  Zarthan,  and  moulding  and  carving  works 
of  gold  and  silver.  There  seemed  to  be  no  connec- 
tion between  these  different  classes  of  workmen. 
But  the  royal  architect  had  his  plan,  and  presently  the 
temple  arose  in  majestic  glory  and  beauty  without 
"the  sound  of  axe  or  hammer."  So  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  is  building  his  spiritual  temple.  The  men  who 
are  projecting  railroads,  building  ships,  constructing 
steam  engines,  laying  submarine  telegraphs  and  in- 
venting telephones,  are  preparing  a  highway  and 
transportation  for  him;  philosophers  and  scientists  are 
preparing  implements  for  his  work;  theologians  and 
Biblical  critics  are  training  his  workmen;  ministers  and 
missionaries  are  felling  timbers  and  quarrying  marble; 
famine  and  pestilence  are  the  furnace  in  which  the  gold 
and  silver  are  purified  and  moulded;  cyclones,  torna- 
does and  wars  are  the  blastings  of  his  quarry,  and  na- 
tions are  the  hammers  with  which  he  breaks  in  pieces 
the  hard  and  flinty  rock.  The  natural  eye  can  see  no 
connection  between  these  different  and  widely  sepa- 
rated interests;  but  the  Divine  Architect  has  his  plan. 
His  temple  is  rising  up  through  the  generations,  and 


MEDIATORIAL  DOMINION  OF  CHRIST.       -     191 

at  last  our  New  Testament  Zerubbabel  will  lay  the 
headstone  of  the  corner  amid  the  shoutings  of  a  jubi- 
lant universe,  "Grace,  grace  unto  it." 

In  the  year  79,  Vesuvius  burst  out  into  an  eruption, 
shaking  the  earth,  filling  the  air  with  clouds  of  ashes, 
and  striking  such  terror  into  all  hearts  that  men 
thought  not  only  was  the  world  coming  to  an  end,  but 
the  gods  were  suffering.  The  cities  of  Pompei,  Her- 
culaneum  and  Stabia  were  buried  beneath  a  mound  of 
ashes,  sand  and  cinders,  and  remained  hermetically 
sealed  for  seventeen  hundred  years.  Recent  excava- 
tion discovered  the  remains  of  a  soldier  at  the  gate 
that  looked  toward  the  burning  mountain.  The  skele- 
ton was  clad  in  its  rusty  armor,  the  helmet  on  his 
empty  skull,  and  his  bony  fingers  still  closed  upon  his 
spear.  Amid  the  confusion  of  that  fatal  night  this 
Roman  sentinel  had  been  forgotten,  and  as  "Rome  re- 
quired her  serftinels,  happen  what  may,  to  stand  at 
their  post,  he  had  to  choose  between  dishonor  and 
death.  He  chose  the  latter.  He  would  not  purchase 
life  at  the  expense  of  a  soldier's  honor  or  the  price  of 
his  oath. "  He  was  faithful  unto  death.  His  fideiity 
to  the  Caesars  was  only  equaled  by  the  devotion  of  the 
soldiers  of  the  cross  to  "the  Captain  of  our  salvation." 
The  National  Reform  Association  is  enlisting  all 
Americans  who  will  be  true  to  the  King  of  kings. 

III.  The  unlimited  extent  of  the  mediatorial  domin- 
ion. In  the  second  chapter  of  Hebrews,  Paul  quotes 
the  eighth  psalm  and  then  proves  that  David  referred 
to  Christ.  "Thou  madest  him  a  little  lower  than  the 
angels;  thou  crownedst  him  with  glory  and  honor,  and 


192  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

didst  set  him  over  the  work  of  thy  hands;  thou  hast 
put  all  things  in  subjection  under  his  feet.''  This  lan- 
guage can  not  refer  to  man  in  his  fallen  state,  for  as  a 
matter  of  fact  all  things  are  not  subject  to  him.  "We 
see  not  yet  all  things  put  under  him.  But  we  see 
Jesus,  who  for  the  suffering  of  death  was  crowned  with 
glory  and  honor."  "All  things  are  delivered  unto  me 
of  my  Father.''  "All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven 
and  in  earth.''  "And  hath  put  all  things  under  his 
feet  and  gave  him  to  be  head  over  all  things  to  his 
church."  "The  head  of  all  principality  and  power." 
"He  is  Lord  of  all. "  The  words  "delivered,"  "given," 
"put"  and  "gave"  mark  this  as  "mediatorial  power," 
and  "all,"  "all  things,"  "all  power,"  express  its  uni- 
versality in  the  largest  sense.  His  dominion  embraces 
all  inanimate  and  irrational  creation;  the  sun,  moon 
and  stars,  the  clouds  and  bottles  of  heaven,  the  earth, 
with  its  roomy  continents  anchored  MI  still  roomier 
seas,  and  all  that  move  in  them.  Asia,  with  its  lofty 
mountains  and  vast  plateaus,  extending  through  all 
the  climatic  zones  of  the  Northern  hemisphere;  its 
Tigris,  Euphrates  and  Ganges  rivers;  its  mineral,  veg- 
etable and  animal  wealth;  Africa,  with  its  vast  table- 
land, the  Sahara,  the  Soudan  and  Southern  plateau, 
surrounded  by  mountain  ranges;  the  famous  Nile  and 
its  luxurious  valleys  and  jungles;  Europe,  with  its  Alps 
and  Pyrenees,  its  Danube  and  Rhine,  its  great  pillars 
of  science,  literature  and  art,  its  wealth  and  industries; 
South  America,  with  its  three  great  highland  systems 
— the  Andes,  the  Plateau  of  Guiana  and  the  Table- 
land; Brazil,  its  great  Amazon,  its  gold  and  platinum 


MEDIATORIAL  DOMINION  OF  CHRIST.       ^     193 

and  diamonds;  North  America,  with  its  Cordilleras, 
extending  from  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  to  Behring 
strait,  its  rich  valleys  and  fertile  plains,  its  great  lakes 
and  rivers,  its  mines  and  forests,  the  islands  of  the  sea, 
with  all  their  stores  of  riches  and  beauty — all  are  his. 
"The  earth  is  the  Lord's  and  the  fulness  thereof." 
"Thou  madest  him  to  have  dominion  over  the  works 
of  thy  hands;"  "thou  hast  put  all  things  under  his  feet; 
all  sheep  and  oxen,  yea,  and  the  beasts  of  the  field, 
the  fowls  of  the  air,  and  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  what- 
soever passeth  through  the  paths  of  the  seas."  "The 
day  is  thine,  the  night  also."  Accordingly  we  read 
that  he  sent  "darkness  upon  Egypt;"  the  sun  stood  still 
upon  Gibeah,  and  the  moon  upon  the  valley  of  Aijalon; 
"the  shadow  went  back  ten  degrees  on  the  sun-dial 
of  Ahaz;"  "the  stars  in  their  courses  fought  against 
Sisera;"  "they  were  more  which  died  with  hailstones 
than  they  whom  the  children  of  Israel  slew  with  the 
sword;"  "the  waters  of  the  Jordan  rose  and  stood  up;" 
"the  smell  of  fire  did  not  come  upon  the  clothes"  of 
the  three  children  in  Nebuchadnezzar's  furnace;  the 
angel  "shut  the  lions'  mouths"  so  that  they  did  "not 
hurt  Daniel  when  cast  into  their  den;"  "the  ravens  fed 
Elijah  during  the  famine;"  "the  frog,  the  locust  and 
the  dog-fly"  plagued  Egypt,  and  quails  came  for  Israel 
in  the  wilderness. 

Pass  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest  orders  of  crea- 
tion. His  dominion  includes  angels  and  archangels, 
thrones  and  dominions,  and  principalities  and  powers, 
in  heavenly  places.  The  holy  angels  are  his  obedient 
servants.  "Bless  the  Lord,  ye  his  angels,  that  excel 


194  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

in  strength,  that  do  his  commandments,  hearkening 
unto  the  voice  of  his  word.''  "Are  they  not  all  min- 
istering spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister  to  those  who  are 
heirs  of  salvation?"  We  know  little  about  the  angels, 
but  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  space  is  peopled 
with  these  bright  spirits  going  to  and  fro  from  heaven 
on  errands  of  mercy,  and  that  each  individual  believer 
has  a  guardian  angel  attending  him  from  birth  to 
death,  and  from  earth  to  glory.  Evil  angels  are  sub- 
ject to  his  scepter.  Through  death  he  destroyed  him 
that  had  the  power  of  death;  that  is,  the  devil.  He 
spoiled  principalities  and  powers  and  made  a  show  of 
them  openly,  triumphing  over  them  in  his  cross.  He 
holds  wicked  spirits  under  chains  of  darkness  to  the 
judgment.  He  holds  the  keys  of  hell  and  of  death. 
Believers  need  not  fear  Satan.  He  is  a  chained  lion 
and  can  go  no  further  than  our  King  gives  him  per- 
mission. Some  good  people  are  in  constant  dread  of 
him.  Let  them  remember  those  beautiful  words: 
"Surely  there  is  no  enchantment  against  Jacob,  neither 
is  there  any  divination  against  Israel. '' 

Between  these  two  extremes  of  creation  stands  man. 
Holy  men  are  his  willing  servants.  They  delight  to 
do  his  will.  Ungodly  men  are  his  unwilling  subjects. 
"Wicked  hands"  are  ever  accomplishing  his  "determi- 
nate counsel.''  He  makes  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise 
him,  and  the  remainder  of  wrath  he  restrains.  The 
king's  heart  is  in  his  hand,  and  he  turneth  it  as  the  rivers 
of  waters  are  turned.  He  hath  made  even  the  wicked 
for  the  day  of  trouble.  All  associations  of  men, 
whether  civil  or  religious,  whether  commercial,  literary, 


MEDIATORIAL  DOMINION  OF  CHRIST.        ^     195 

political  or  ecclesiastical,  are  subject  to  him.  The  na- 
tions are  the  shields  of  the  earth  with  which  he  defends 
his  body,  the  Church.  His  providence  is  universal. 
"It  extends  from  the  roofless  heavens  to  the  bottom- 
less pit."  His  kingdom  is  over  all.  The  sun,  moon 
and  stars  make  obeisance  to  this  Joseph.  The  clouds 
are  his  chariot.  He  makes  his  way  on  the  wings  of 
the  wind.  The  flaming  fire  is  his  minister.  The  gold 
and  silver  are  his,  beasts  of  the  forest  and  cattle  on  a 
thousand  hills.  He  sits  upon  the  circle  of  the  earth, 
and  before  him  the  inhabitants  are  as  grasshoppers. 
The  nations  are  but  the  drop  of  a  bucket  in  his  hand. 
Before  him  angels  veil  their  faces.  Ezekiel's  vision  of 
the  wheels  represents  providence  in  its  nature,  mys- 
tery, wisdom  and  universality.  These  wheels  were 
subject  to  one  like  the  Son  of  Man  on  a  throne  above. 
The  Lamb  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  takes  the  book  of 
God's  purposes,  breaks  the  seals,  blows  the  trumpets 
and  pours  out  the  vials,  causing  earthquakes,  famines, 
pestilence  and  war,  and  thus  overturns,  overturns  and 
overturns  all  opposition  to  his  reign,  and  carries  for- 
ward the  divine  scheme  until  the  kingdoms  of  this 
world  have  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of 
his  Christ.  Then  will  there  be  voices  from  the  four 
living  ones  before  the  throne,  and  the  twenty-four 
elders,  and  the  one  hundred  and  forty-four  thousand; 
voices  from  the  angels,  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand, 
and  thousands  of  thousands;  voices  from  all  kindreds, 
and  tongues,  and  people,  and  nations;  voices  from  the 
fowls  of  the  air,  beasts  of  the  field  and  fish  of  the  sea; 
voices  from  the  higher  spheres  and  cloudy  sky;  voices 


196  REFORM  A  TJON  PRINCIPLES. 

from  reprobate  men  and  devils  in  the  pit: — " Worthy 
is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain  to  receive  power,  and  riches, 
and  wisdom,  and  strength,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and 
blessing." 

THE    WONDERS    OF     HIS    PROVIDENCE. 

Rev.  David  Nelson,  in  his  "Cause  and  Cure  of  Infi- 
delity," has  recorded  a  number  of  facts  which  are  of 
interest  to  all.  Air  once  breathed  is  not  fit  to  be  in- 
haled the  second  time.  Exhaled  air  is  poisonous,  and 
if  we  are  compelled  to  breathe  the  same  air  again  and 
again  we  must  all  die.  There  is  a  provision  for  this. 
The  air  cast  out  of  the  lungs  is  heavier  than  the  other 
and  sinks  to  the  ground.  But  it  will  certainly  pile  up, 
strata  above  strata,  taking  first  the  animals  whose  nos- 
trils are  nearest  the  ground,  and  finally  killing  us. 
That  can  not  occur,  for  the  grasses  and  weeds  and 
flowers  and  leaves  drink  it  up  as  the  fleece  the  dew. 
In  the  winter  time  there  is  no  green  thing  to  perform 
this  office.  Then  the  streams  and  lakes  and  rivers 
perform  it.  The  frosts  may  sheet  these  with  ice.  Then 
the  winds  sweep  away  these  poisonous  vapors  into  the 
lakes  and  seas.  From  decaying  animal  and  vegetable 
matter  there  arises  a  poisonous  vapor  called  hydrogen 
gas.  It  is  lighter  than  common  air  and  ascends  to  the 
clouds.  But  the  air  above  will  become  charged  with 
it  if  not  removed.  There  is  another  gas  in  the  air 
called  oxygen,  and  this,  united  with  hydrogen,  forms 
water;  but  it  takes  a  powerful  force  to  unite  them.  As 
the  earth  revolves  upon  its  axis  a  current  of  electricity 
is  generated  which  encircles  the  earth.  This  is  very 
powerful,  as  we  know  from  the  fact  that  when  it  leaps 


MEDIATORIAL  DOMINION  OF  CHRIST.          .    197 

from  the  clouds  to  the  earth  it  sometimes  shatters 
mighty  oaks.  When  it  thus  powerfully  leaps  from  one 
cloud  to  another  it  strikes  together  these  two  gases 
and  forms  water.  You  have  noticed  it  rain  harder 
just  after  a  flash  of  lightning  or  a  peal  of  thunder. 
Thus  rank  poison  is  converted  into  a  refreshing  shower. 

In  midsummer  the  heat  increases  very  rapidly  dur- 
ing the  early  part  of  the  day.  If  it  continued  increas- 
ing at  the  same  rate  until  night  the  harvest  hands 
would  be  driven  from  the  fields  and  the  crops  con- 
sumed. But  it  does  not.  Sprinkle  a  room  on  a  very 
hot  day  and  the  water  soon  evaoorates.  During  the 
process  the  room  is  made  cooler.  As  the  water  was 
converted  into  mist  it  took  up  the  heat  or  caloric  in 
the  room  and  carried  it  away.  Take  away  heat  and 
you  have  cold  left.  So  the  summer  sun  shining  on  the 
fountains  and  streamlets,  lakes  and  rivers,  converts  the 
water  into  mist,  which  is  constantly  flying  away  with 
the  caloric,  and  the  heat  does  not  become  unendur- 
able. At  twilight  in  midsummer  it  becomes  cooler. 
The  cold  increases  during  the  early  part  of  the  night. 
Should  it  continue  to  increase  at  the  same  rate  until 
the  morning,  all  the  crops  would  be  destroyed  by 
frost.  But  it  does  not.  As  the  cold  increases,  this 
mist  is  again  changed  into  water  and  descends  in  the 
form  of  dew.  When  converted  into  water  it  again 
parts  with  the  heat  that  it  took  up,  so  that  the  heat  it 
took  away  in  the  day-time  it  brings  back  at  night.  So 
there  is  a  provision  made  against  destructive  heat  in 
the  day-time  and  destructive  cold  at  night. 

Some  substances  mix  with  water  more  readily  than 


198  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

common  clay,  others  not  so  readily.  Sugar  and  water 
mix  at  once.  Sulphur  and  water  commingle  with 
great  difficulty.  Now,  had  our  earth  been  of  the  same 
consistency  as  sulphur,  the  rains  would  have  swollen 
the  rivers  without  profiting  the  soil;  but  a  kind  Provi- 
dence has  made  it  neither  one  nor  the  other,  but  a 
happy  mean.  As  a  farmer  takes  up  his  axe,  or  saw, 
or  plow,  he  can  profitably  remember  that  of  the  twen- 
ty-nine metals  iron  is  more  plentiful  than  all  the  rest, 
more  tenacious  and  durable,  and  it  alone  may  be 
mended  by  the  process  of  welding;  but  all  these  are 
natural  provisions.  Have  we  any  extraordinary? 
Take  the  map  of  South  America,  and  you  will  find 
that  the  mountains  skirt  the  sea  instead  of  being  in  the 
center  of  the  continent.  In  those  inland  territories 
they  have  no  rains.  The  Andes  mountains  are  very 
high.  The  trade-winds  carry  the  clouds  against  them 
and  there  is  a  perpetual  thunderstorm.  The  rivers 
are  kept  in  a  constant  freshet,  and  they  are  very  large. 
This  answers  the  purpose  of  irrigation.  The  hot  sun 
shines  upon  these  descending  showers  in  the  Andes 
and  converts  much  of  them  into  mist.  This  is  con- 
verted into  dew  during  the  night.  The  dews  are  heavy 
in  South  America,  almost  amounting  to  showers.  "It 
does  not  rain  in  Egypt,  and  there  is  no  mountain  in 
the  proper  place  to  intercept  the  cloud,  nor  is  there 
any  current  of  passing  clouds  to  be  there  condensed, 
even  had  the  Andes  lifted  their  heads  along  the  shores 
of  the  Red  Sea.  No  cause,  or  combination  of  causes, 
is  found  powerful  enough  to  water  plentifully  the  fields 
of  Egypt,  yet  it  has  been  called  the  granary  of  the 


MEDIATORIAL  DOMINION  OF  CHRIST.          ^     199 

world.  I.  Egypt  is  unlike  every  and  any  kingdom 
of  which  we  have  read,  in  being  not  level  merely,  but 
flat  enough  to  be  overflown.  2.  A  river  runs  through 
the  middle,  large  enough  to  flood  a  wide  range  of  the 
earth's  surface.  3.  The  Mountains  of  the  Moon  invite 
the  clouds,  or  a  number  of  causes  unite  to  produce  the 
result.  It  rains  there  with  sufficient  profusion  to 
swell  a  river  high  enough  to  cover  a  kingdom.  The 
Nile  rises  in  the  Mountains  of  the  Moon.  4.  The  dis- 
tance from  where  the  Nile  receives  the  rain  to  Egypt 
is  sufficiently  protracted.  It  takes  the  flood  several 
months  to  descend,  so  that  the  waters  do  not  reach 
the  fields  where  they  are  needed  too  soon,  or  at  an 
improper  season  of  the  year.  5-  The  rains  fall  at  the 
proper  season  of  the  year,  and  in  sufficient  abundance." 
"Greenland  is  without  a  forest.  Do  you  ask  how 
they  are  warmed  in  winter?  Sailors  tell  us  that  train  oil 
is  their  fuel.  If  you  had  no  other  resource €or  fuel  than 
train  oil  you  could  not  get  that,  for  the  whale  is  ordered 
to  swim  nearest  to  those  who  most  need  his  flesh;  but 
wood  is  wanting.  Their  houses  must  be  covered, 
their  spears  and  javelins  must  have  handles.  Without 
domestic  or  hunting  utensils,  boats  or  fishing  tackle, 
their  homes  can  not  be  tenanted;  without  wood^these 
things  can  not  be  made.  Travelers  tell  us  that  a  cer- 
tain current  of  ocean,  or  certain  winds,  or  both  united, 
bear  along  in  the  proper  direction  the  once  stately 
tree,  and  another  and  another,  with  abundant  con- 
stancy, and  lodge  the  needed  forest  between  the 
islands.  There  it  remains  until  needed  by  those  whom 
the  Lord  forgets  not.  The  soil  does  not  nourish  the 


200  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES, 

needed  oak  for  their  convenience,  but  the  billows  obey 
his  voice  and  bear  it  to  them."  A  single  glance  at 
these  adaptations  is  sufficient  to  satisfy  us  that  all 
God's  works  are  tributary  to  man's  well-being  and 
happiness.  The  same  Being  who  made  man,  formed, 
it  is  evident,  the  animals  that  minister  to  his  comfort. 
Animal  life,  again,  is  dependent  on  vegetable  life,  and 
vegetable  life  is  dependent  on  the  soil  and  atmosphere; 
and  so  the  wide  earth  is  seen  to  be  one  great  whole. 
Animal  and  vegetable  life  are  again  dependent  on  the 
changes  of  the  seasons  produced  by  the  relation  be- 
tween the  earth  and  the  sun,  on  the  length  of  the  days 
of  the  year,  and  these  are  occasioned  by  the  laws  and 
adjustments  of  the  solar  system.  The  solar  system, 
again,  is  manifestly  connected  in  the  government  of 
God  with  other  systems;  for  it  appears  that  our  sun  is 
advancing  nearer  to  certain  fixed  stars  and  moving 
away  from  6*thers,  and  that  in  obedience  to  laws  which 
regulate  other  suns  and  systems  of  suns;  so  that  we 
see  this  vast,  majestic,  interminable  universe  of  God  is 
all  made  tributary  to  man's  well-being  and  happiness. 
"How  manifold,  Lord,  are  thy  works!  In  wisdom 
hast  thou  made  them  all. " 

CHRIST   IN    HISTORY. 

The  historian,  John  Von  Muller,  says  Jesus  Christ  is 
God's  purpose  in  history.  "The  gospel  is  the  fulfill- 
ment of  all  hope,  the  perfection  of  all  philosophy,  the 
interpreter  of  all  revolutions,  the  key  to  all  the  seem- 
ing contradictions  of  the  physical  and  moral  world;  it 
is  life;  it  is  immortality.  Since  I  have  known  the  Sa- 


MEDIATORIAL  DOMINION  OF  CHRIST.        ^    201 

vior,  everything  is  clear;  with  him  there  is  nothing  I 
cannot  solve." 

Dr.  Schaff  says:  "Take  away  Jesus  Christ,  and  the 
human  race  is  left  without  an  animating  soul,  without 
a  purpose,  an  inexplicable  enigma."  Jesus  Christ, 
"the  life  and  light  of  men,"  sheds  life  and  light  back 
upon  the  night  of  heathenism,  and  the  twilight  of  Ju- 
daism, and  forward  through  all  the  ages  of  subsequent 
development.  In  what  respect  do  the  events  preced- 
ing the  incarnation  of  Jesus  Christ  appear  preparatory 
thereto?  Both  heathenism  and  Judaism  had  a  distinct 
and  efficient  part  in  paving  the  way  for  this  event,  and 
each  in  its  two-fold  aspect  of  positive  and  negative 
results.  Heathenism  demonstrated  that  a  "salvation 
devised  by  man,  with  the  means  at  his  command,"  was 
impossible,  and  that  "neither  nature  nor  art,  neither 
worldly  wisdom  nor  culture,  neither  oracles  nor  mys- 
teries, neither  philosophy  nor  theosophy,  neither  po- 
litical institutions,  nor  industry,  neither  sensual  indul- 
gence nor  luxury,"  could  satisfy  the  craving  of  the 
soul  or  restore  to  man  the  inward  peace  he  had  lost. 
Thus  "humbling  their  pride  and  awakening  in  nobler 
spirits  a  sense  of  need,"  heathenism  prepared  man  for 
salvation.  Judaism,  on  the  other  hand,  produced  the 
conviction  that  "the  weak  and  beggarly  elements" 
"could  not  make  the  comers  thereto  perfect." 

Heathenism  also  produced  positive  results.  "It  had 
yielded  great  and  important  results  in  the  domains  of 
science,  art  and  human  culture,  which  became  hand- 
maid to  religion,  when  brought  to  own  the  power  of 
that  truth  which  the  Lord  had  revealed.  It  furnished 


202  REFORM  A  TION  PR  I  NCI  PL  RS. 

forms  which,  from  their  depth,  distinctness,  and  cor- 
rectness, their  ready  adaptation  and  general  suitable- 
ness, proved  most  fit  for  presenting  and  developing 
new  truths  which  were  to  issue  from  Judah's  land.  It 
also  produced  contemplation  and  study  both  of  nature 
and  of  mind,  of  history  and  of  life,  which  in  many 
respects  even  opened  the  way  and  prepared  a  soil  for 
the  great  realities  of  salvation.  Socrates  gave  faint 
echoes  of  Christian  doctrine  and  life  in  tracing  his 
deepest  thoughts  and  motives  to  divine  suggestions, 
and  in  willingly  surrendering  the  enjoyments  of  this 
world,  in  the  confident  hope  of  gaining  that  which  was 
spiritual  and  eternal.  The  speculations  of  Plato  even 
more  closely  and  fully  approximated  Christian  views. 
That  philosopher  collected  the  scattered  germs  of  his 
great  predecessor's  teachings.  In  his  profound,  spec- 
ulative and  poetic  mind  they  sprang  up  unfolded  to  a 
new  mode  of  contemplating  the  world,  which  came 
nearer  that  of  Christianity  than  any  outside  of  revela- 
tion. The  philosophy  of  Plato  spake  of  man  as  claim- 
ing kindred  with  the  Deity,  and  led  him  beyond  what 
is  seen  and  sensuous  to  the  eternal  prototypes  of  the 
beautiful,  the  true,  and  the  good,  from  which  mankind 
had  fallen;  thus  awakening  in  him  a  deep  longing  for 
the  blessings  he  had  lost." — Kurtz. 

These  two  philosophers  have  been  of  incalculable 
advantage  to  Christianity,  in  that  "their  systems  were 
presented  in  such  a  form  as  to  be  available  to  Christian 
science,  in  its  inquiries  and  dogmatic  statements." 

But  this  heathenistic  preparation  is  still  more  clearly 
seen  when  viewed  from  a  political  standpoint.  "As 


MEDIATORIAL  DOMINION  OF  CHRIST.        „    203 

they  had  refused  allegiance  to  the  personal  and  living 
God,  they  were  impelled  by  a  sort  of  inward  necessity 
to  concentrate  the  mental  and  physical  powers  of  man- 
kind, and  through  them  all  the  powers  of  nature  and 
the  products  of  the  various  zones  and  continents,  and 
subject  them  to  one  man — the  representative  of  Deity." 
This  gave  rise  to  those  bloody  conquests  of  Cyrus,  of 
Alexander,  and  of  Caesar,  which  resulted  in  the  over- 
throw of  the  Chaldean,  the  Medo-Persian,  and  the 
Macedonian  empires  successively,  and  which  culmi- 
nated in  the  Roman  dynasty,  the  goal  of  universal 
empire.  This  was  the  greatest  and  strongest  mon- 
archy, Satan's  visible  kingdom  in  the  world,  and  it  was 
permitted  to  reach  the  climax  of  glory  that  the  Savior, 
in  visibly  overcoming  Satan's  kingdom  in  its  greatest 
strength  and  glory,  might  obtain  a  more  complete  and 
ostensible  triumph  over  Satan  himself.  When  Satan 
tempted  Christ,  he  no  doubt  argued  thus:  "See  this 
great  Roman  empire,  which  embraces  all  the  kingdoms 
of  the  world.  See  its  unity,  its  wealth,  and  its  power. 
See  the  glory  of  its  capitol  on  the  seven  hills.  See 
these  great  Roman  roads,  stretching  from  Britain  on 
the  north  to  Palestine  on  the  south,  and  from  the 
Straits  of  Gibraltar  on  the  west  to  the  river  Euphrates 
•on  the  east.  See  the  iron  beaks  of  her  navies  crushing 
all  opposition  upon  the  seas  and  her  thundering  legions 
trampling  all  upon  land.  See  how  the  Greek  language 
has  been  introduced  in  every  province,  thus  suspend- 
ing the  judgment  by  which  the  languages  were  con- 
founded. All  this  is  mine.  I  am  the  controlling 
power.  My  will  is  supreme.  All  this  will  I  give  thee, 
etc." 


204  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

Thus  we  see  in  that  empire  all  nations  united  in  one 
universal  civilization,  which  "rendered  it  comparatively 
easy  to  circulate  the  fresh  blood  poured  by  the  Church 
into  the  veins  of  nations." 

Still  another  fact:  About  250  B.  C.,  Ptolemy  Phila- 
delphus  had  the  Old  Testament  translated  into  Greek, 
and  the  Jews  in  the  dispersion  carried  these  Scriptures 
into  every  country,  erected  synagogues,  and  had  them 
read  every  Sabbath.  As  James  said  in  the  Co.uncil  at 
Jerusalem,  "Moses  of  old  time  hath  in  every  city  them 
that  preached  him  (Jesus)  being  read  in  the  synagogue 
every  Sabbath  day,"  so  that  all  the  world  was  on  tip- 
toe of  expectation  when  Christ  came;  and  when  Paul 
sounded  the  gospel  trumpet  at  Rome,  its  notes  went 
reverberating  through  all  the  world.  On  the  other 
hand,  Judaism  was  the  chosen  instrument  in  "prepar- 
ing and  maturing  a  salvation  the  benefits  of  which 
were  to  be  shared  by  all  nations."  Everything  con- 
nected with  the  history  of  this  people  bears  reference 
to  the  coming  salvation.  "Every  revelation  and  dis- 
pensation, all  discipline  and  punishment,  every  prom- 
ise and  threatening;  their  constitution,  laws  and  wor- 
ship; every  political,  civil  and  religious  institution — all 
tended  toward  this  goal.  In  one  sentence,  Judaism 
has  supplied  to  the  Church  the  substance,  the  divine, 
reality;  heathenism  the  human  form,  and  the  outward 
means  of  developing  and  carrying  forward  the  great 
work." 

It  thus  appears  that  during  the  first  forty  centuries 
God  was  working  toward  the  Cross.  It  is  just  as  plain 
that  the  last  eighteen  centuries  have  been  occupied  in 


MEDIATORIAL  DOMINION  OF  CHRIST.          ,    205 

establishing  and  enlarging  Christ's  kingdom  in  the 
earth.  And  that  work  will  go  on  until  "the  kingdoms 
of  this  world  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and 
of  his  Christ." 

IV.  The  endless  duration  of  the  mediatorial  domin- 
ion. Paul's  declaration  that  in  the  end  he  shall  deliver 
up  the  kingdom  unto  the  Father,  seems  to  put  a  pe- 
riod upon  it.  But  that  passage  must  interpret  itself. 
In  the  same  connection  it  is  said:  "Then  shall  the  Son 
also  himself  be  subject  unto  him  that  put  all  things 
under  him,  that  God  may  be  all  in  all."  It  is  only  in 
his  mediatorial  character  that  the  Son  can  be  subject 
to  the  Father.  He  must,  then,  continue  to  be  the 
Mediator  through  all  eternity.  But  he  can  not  be  the 
Mediator  without  retaining  his  mediatorial  office.  And 
if  he  retain  his  mediatorial  kingship,  he  must  likewise 
have  his  mediatorial  kingdom,  for  a  king  without  a 
kingdom  is  an  anomaly  which  heaven  could  not  en- 
dure. "Delivering  up  the  kingdom,"  therefore,  accord- 
ing to  the  best  critics,  means  bringing  it  to  completion 
and  exhibiting  it  before  the  Father  in  the  report  of  his 
perfect  work.  He  must  reign  until  the  judgment  to 
put  his  enemies  beneath  his  feet,  and  then  he  must 
reign  through  all  eternity  to  keep  them  there.  He 
must  reign  till  the  end  to  bring  his  people  to  glory, 
and  then  he  must  reign  through  all  eternity  as  the 
medium  of  their  approach  to  the  Father,  the  source  of 
their  holiness  and  blessedness,  and  the  reward  of  his 
completed  work.  "Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  forever  and 
ever."  "Thy  kingdom  is  an  everlasting  kingdom." 
"His  dominion  is  an  everlasting  dominion  which  shall 


206  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

not  pass  away,  and  his  kingdom  that  which  shall  not 
be  destroyed."  "He  shall  reign  over  the  house  of 
Jacob  forever;  and  of  his  kingdom  there  shall  be  no 
end."  "An  entrance  shall  be  ministered  unto  you 
abundantly  into  the  everlasting  kingdom  of  bur  Lord 
and  Savior  Jesus  Christ."  "The.  kingdoms  of  this 
world  are  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of 
his  Christ;  and  he  shall  reign  forever  and  ever." 


CHAPTER    XII. 


CHRIST   THE   KING   OF   NATIONS. 

The  mediatorial  dominion  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
over  the  nations  is  the  question  of  the  hour.  In  the 
early  Christian  centuries  the  Church  was  called  to  de- 
fend the  prophetic  office  of  Christ.  And  hence  those 
ecumenical  councils  which  met  to  determine  the  teach- 
ings of  the  divine  word.  In  the  First  Reformation  in 
Germany,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  the  Church  was 
called  to  defend  the  Pontific  office  of  Christ.  And 
hence  Luther's  doctrine  of  a  standing  or  a  falling 
Church,  "The  just  shall  live  by  faith."  In  the  Second 
Reformation  in  Scotland,  in  the  seventeenth  century, 
the  Church  was  called  to  defend  the  headship  of  Christ 
"over  his  Church.  And  hence  the  fact  that  eighteen 
thousand  Covenanters  were  willing  to  lay  down  their 
lives  as  martyrs  rather  than  recognize  a  human  head 
in  the  Crjurch.  But  to-day  the  Church  is  called  to 
defend  the  Kingship  of  Christ  over  the  nations. 

I.  The  kingly  authority  of  Christ  follows  from  the 
fact  that  the  Father  has  granted  him  universal  author- 
ity as  a  reivard  for  his  suffering  and  death.  In  the 
vision  of  Daniel,  otie  like  unto  the  Son  of  Man  came 
to  the  Ancient  of  days,  and  they  brought  him  near 
before  him,  "and  there  was  given  unto  him  dominion 
and  glory  and  a  kingdom."  "The  Son  of  Man"  is 
Jesus  Christ.  The  dominion  is  mediatorial  because  it 


REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 


was  "given."  And  it  is  universal  because  it  includes 
"dominion,  glory,  and  a  kingdom."  The  Savior  said: 
"All  power  in  heaven  and  in  earth  hath  been  given 
unto  me."  And  the  apostle  said:  "Because  he  be- 
came obedient  unto  death,  God  also  hath  exalted  him 
and  given  him  a  name  that  is  above  every  name." 
These  Scriptures  clearly  teach  that  his  mediatorial  do- 
minion is  universal.  As  Rutherford  puts  it,  it  extends 
from  the  roofless  heavens  to  the  bottomless  pit.  In 
the  vision  of  Ezekiel,  where  he  saw  a  wheel  within  a 
wheel,  whose  "movements  were  high  and  dreadful," 
we  have  a  symbol  of  providence  in  its  wisdom,  its 
power,  its  mystery,  and  its  universality.  And  we  are 
expressly  told  that  these  wheels  were  subject  to  one 
like  unto  the  Son  of  Man  who  occupied  the  throne 
above.  The  wheels  of  providence  move  at  the  bid- 
ding of  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  And  the  apostle,  as  if  in- 
terpreting this  vision,  says:  "Head  over  all  things  to 
his  Church."  Solomon  built  his  temple  on  Mt.  Mo- 
riah.  He  sent  one  boon  of  hands  to  the  forests  of 
Lebanon  to  fell  timbers,  another  to  the  quarries  in  the 
mountains  to  get  out  stones,  and  a  third  to  the  plains 
to  make  castings.  These  men  could  see  no  connection 
between  their  work  and  the  temple.  But  the  royal 
architect  understood  it.  And  so  thoroughly  had  he 
matured  his  plans  that  when  the  timbers  were  brought 
from  the  forest,  and  the  stones  from  the  quarries,  and 
the  castings  from  the  plains,  the  building  went  up 
"without  sound  of  axe  or  hammer."  The  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  is  building  his  temple.  You  hear  of  "wars  and 
rumors  of  wars."  That  is  the  Mediator  felling  tim- 


CHRIST  TIfE  KING  OF  NATIONS,  *     209 

bers.  You  see  nation  dashed  against  nation  and  king- 
dom against  kingdom  until  blood  flows  to  the  horses' 
bridles.  That  is  the  blasting  in  the  mediatorial  quarry. 
You  see  moral  revolutions  which  result  in  the  blend- 
ing of  nations.  That  is  the  Mediator  making  castings. 
To-day  men  suffer  under  what  they  are  pleased  to  call 
the  hard  times.  They  feel  the  pressure,  but  they  do 
not  realize  that  it  is  the  hand  of  the  reigning  Media- 
tor. And  we  are  in  his  hand  as  clay  in  the  hand  of 
the  potter,  and  he  makes  one  vessel  to  honor  and 
another  to  dishonor  at  his  pleasure.  Christ  is  head 
over  all  these  departments  of  providence  to  his  Church. 
This  necessarily  includes  dominion  over  the  nations. 
Since  the  Church  has  her  existence  among  the  nations, 
and  is  capable  of  being  affected  favorably  or  unfavor- 
ably by  them,  it  is  greatly  to  be  desiderated  that  he 
have  authority  over  them.  Without  admitting  his 
mediatorial  supremacy  over  the  nations,  how  could  he 
give  effect  to  that  grand  command  which1  issued  from 
his  lips:  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  preach  the  gospel 
to  every  creature.  Teach  all  nations?"  Is  the  Savior 
in  these  lofty  proclamations  unrighteously  invading  the 
kingdom  of  another,  and  usurping  authority  over  it? 
That  must  be  the  inference  if  he  is  not  mediatorial 
King  of  nations.  Suppose  Queen  Victoria  should  set 
up  her  throne  in  the  United  States  and  call  upon  the 
citizens  to  flock  to  her  banner;  would  she  be  tolerated? 
No.  She  would  be  branded  as  an  usurper.  The  case 
would  be  different,  however,  if  she  were  to  go  into  one 
of  the  provinces  of  England,  that  had  revolted,  and 
call  upon  its  citizens  to  return  to  their  former  allegiance. 


210  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

Christ,  in  thus  commissioning  his  ambassadors,  is  only 
providing  to  make  reprisals  from  a  kingdom  that  had 
withdrawn  allegiance  from  its  legitimate  sovereign,  and 
erected  the  standard  of  rebellion  in  the  earth;  and  he 
has  received  authority  to  subdue  the  rebellious  and  to 
rule  in  the  midst  of  his  enemies.  Without  granting 
the  headship  of  Christ  over  the  nations,  his  special 
kingdom,  which  "is  not  of  this  world,"  would  take  its 
rise  in  usurpation,  and  its  claims  would  be  maintained 
at  the  expense  of  law  and  order.  (See  Dr.  A.  Sym- 
ington's lecture  on  Second  Reformation.)  Cortez  had 
no  right  to  lead  his  companions  into  Mexico.  Napoleon 
had  no  right  to  enter  Egypt,  England  had  no  right  to 
make  war  upon  Afghanistan.  But  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
has  a  perfect  right  to  lead  his  armies  into  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth  and  demand  submission,  because  he  has 
been  commissioned  by  the  Father.  To  this  every 
Christian  heart  responds  with  a  hearty  amen. 

In  1776,  there  were  forty-six  earnest  men  yonder  in 
Philadelphia,  who  signed  the  Bill  of  Rights,  and  solemnly 
pledged  their  lives,  their  fortunes  and  their  sacred 
honor  in  its  defense.  In  1871,  there  were  146  earnest 
men  in  Pittsburgh,  who  signed  a  covenant,  and,  lifting 
up  their  hands  before  God,  they  solemnly  pledged 
their  lives,  their  fortunes  and  their  sacred  honor  in  de- 
fense of  the  crown-rights  and  royal  prerogatives  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  company  who  now  pub- 
lish this  is  a  great  host.  In  that  hour  of  defeat  and 
disaster  to  the  Covenanters  in  Scotland  an  unknown 
knight  lifted  his  visor  and  discovered  their  well-known 
leader — their  own  William  Wallace.  A  shout  was 


CHRIST  THE  KING  OF  NATIONS.  f      211 

raised,  and  defeat  was  changed  to  victory.  The  Cap- 
tain of  our  salvation  is  before  us.  He  will  lead  us  to 
certain  victory. 

Between  A.  D.  1095  and  1270,  there  were  seven 
crusades  in  Europe.  Their  object  was  to  rescue  the 
Holy  Sepulchre  from  the  hands  of  the  infidel.  Per- 
haps 3,000,000  souls,  including  80,000  children,  were 
sacrificed  in  this  wild  enterprise.  The  first  crusade, 
after  losing  many  armies  by  battle,  famine  and  disease, 
entered  Jerusalem  four  years  after  the  "Holy  War" 
had  been  proclaimed.  This  crusade  was  preached  by 
Peter  the  Hermit.  In  his  burning  zeal  he  traveled 
through  Europe  until  the  people  were  all  a  flame  of 
fire.  The  Pope,  Urban  I.,  took  it  up.  Two  councils 
were  held.  At  the  second,  in  Clermont,  France,  the 
Pope  made  a  great  oration.  "The  pent-up  emotions 
of  the  crowd  burst  forth,  and  cries  of  Deus  vult  (God 
wills  it)  rose  simultaneously  from  the  whole  audience." 
The  crusade  was  decreed  and  Deus  vult  was  made  the 
war  cry  by  the  order  of  the  Pope. 

The  National  Reform  Association  is  preaching  an- 
other crusade.  It  has  for  its  object  rescuing  this  gov- 
ernment from  the  hands  of  the  enemies  of  the  King  of 
kings,  and  placing  it  in  the  hands  of  his  friends.  The 
effect  of  the  Eastern  Crusade  was  to  break  the  night 
of  the  Dark  Ages  which  rested  upon  Europe,  and 
open  up  the  way  for  the  introduction  of  Eastern  civili- 
zation. The  effect  of  this  Western  Crusade  will  be  the 
overthrow  of  the  kingdom  of  Satan  and  the  establish- 
ment of  the  kingdom  of  truth  and  righteousness.  The 
liquor  traffic  will  be  abolished,  secret  societies  will  be 


212  RE  FORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

disbanded,  our  land  will  have  her  Sabbaths,  our  princes 
shall  be  peace  and  our  exactors  righteousness.  "Thou 
shalt  be  called  Hepzibah  and  thy  land  Beulah;  for  the 
Lord  delighteth  in  thee  and  thy  land  shall  be  married." 
II.  It  follows  front  analogy.  Angels  and  authorities 
and  powers  in  heaven  are  made  subject  to  him.  He 
rules  over  them,  not  merely  by  a  secret,  invisible  con- 
trol, but  by  a  moral  sovereignty,  commanding  the 
services  of  holy  angels,  and  restraining  the  rebellious. 
More:  Marriage  is  a  moral  ordinance  of  God,  origi- 
nating in  nature.  The  Sabbath  is  a  moral  ordinance 
of  heaven,  having  its  necessity  in  the  very  nature  of 
man.  But  both  of  these  are  declared  in  the  New 
Testament  to  be  under  law  to  Christ.  Nations  are 
moral  ordinances  of  God,  created  and  regulated  by  the 
moral  law.  Does  it  not  follow  that  nations  are  also 
under  law  to  Christ,  and  especially  since  their  duties 
and  functions  are  fully  set  forth  by  his  own  apostle, 
acting  under  his  direction,  in  the  thirteenth  chapter  of 
Romans?  Furthermore:'  Man  was  created  a  social 
being.  He  is  by  nature  asocial  being.  He  can  not  exist 
without  society.  He  is  in  his  normal  state  in  society 
just  as  in  the  family.  No  man  can  divest  himself  of  his 
relations  and  obligations  to  civil  society.  The  first 
covenant  transaction  that  God  ever  entered  into  with 
man  was  with,  him  as  a  member  of  civil  society.  The 
covenant  of  works  was  not  made  with  Adam  as  an  in- 
dividual, for  it  affected  a  race.  It  was  not  made  with 
him  as  an  ecclesiastic,  for  the  Church  had  then  no  ex- 
istence. The  Church  was  neither  needed  nor  consti- 
tuted until  after  the  fall.  But  this  first  covenant  trans- 


CHRIST  THE  KING  OF  NATIONS.  ,     213 

action  constituted  the  State  and  established  the  rela- 
tions existing  between  it  and  God.  Man  broke  covenant 
with  God  and  fell.  He  fell  as  a  social  being.  Yes, 
fallen,  if  you  please,  as  low  as  you  please,  he  is  still  a 
social  being.  Christ  comes  and  redeems  man.  He 
redeems  him  as  a  social  being.  He  makes  him  a  citi- 
zen of  his  kingdom,  with  .all  those  social  faculties 
which  underlie  and  give  rise  to  civil  society.  Since 
civil  society  was  made  for  man,  and  man  as  a  social 
being  is  a  subject  of  Christ,  will  it  not  follow  that  civil 
society  is  also  subject  to  Christ? 

III.  It  follows  from  the  fact  that  the  moral  law  has 
been  made  the  rule  of  the  mediatorial  government. 
Law  has  been  revealed  in  a  three-fold  form:  I.  Law 
absolute,  or  the  will  of  the  Creator  imposed  upon  the 
creature.  This  consists  of  two  parts — a  precept  and  a 
penalty.  2.  Law  economic,  or  law  in  a  covenant  form. 
This  differs  in  two  respects  from  the  first,  a.  In  that 
a  promise  is  annexed  to  the  fulfillment  of  it.  b.  In 
that  the  consent  of  the  subject  is  secured.  This  is  the 
form  of  law  under  which  our  first  parents  were  placed 
in  Eden.  They  broke  the  law.  In  doing  so  they  for- 
feited the  promise,  lost  the  ability  to  keep  it,  or  even  a 
knowledge  of  it,  and  incurred  the  curse.  This  is  the 
position  of  the  whole  human  race  ever  since.  It  thus 
became  necessary  to  have  a  republication  of  this  law. 
And  God  descended  upon  Sinai,  and  amid  the  fire.and 
smoke,  the- blast  of  the  trumpet  and  roaring  of  thunder, 
delivered  this  law  with  his  own  voice  to  indicate  its 
majesty  and  authority;  and  wrote  it  in  his  own  auto- 
graph with  his  own  finger  upon  two  tables  of  stone,  to 


214  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

indicate  its  perpetuity.  That  law  is  founded  on  the 
eternal  distinctions  of  right  and  wrong,  distinctions 
strong  and  irriversible  as  the  granite  bases  of  the  ever- 
lasting mountains.  Man  cannot  alter  it.  Man  did  not 
enact  the  laws  of  the  storms,  and  he  cannot  abrogate 
them.  They  are  higher  than  he.  Man  did  not  enact 
the  laws  of  the  tides,  and  he  cannot  annul  them.  They 
are  higher  than  he.  So  man  did  not  enact  the  moral 
^law,  and  he  can  not  abrogate  it.  It  is  higher  than  he. 
That  moral  law  has  been  made  the  rule  of  the  media- 
torial government.  3.  Law  mediatorial.  When  Moses 
came  down  from  the  mountain  and  saw  the  golden  calf, 
he  dashed  the  tables  to  pieces,  to  indicate  that  the  law, 
as  a  covenant  of  works,  had  been  broken.  God  directed 
him  to  hew  out  two  other  tables,  and  he  reproduced 
the  law  with  his  own  finger  on  these,  and  he  directed 
that  they  be  kept  in  the  ark  beneath  the  mercy-seat, 
as  a  rule  of  life  in  the  hands  of  a  Mediator.  Christ  is 
the  Mediator.  The  moral  law  is  in  his  hands  as  our 
rule  of  life.  We  are  under  this  law  to  Christ.  But 
nations  are  moral  beings  and  subject  to  this  moral  law. 
They  are,  therefore,  subject  to  Christ. 

IV.  It  follows  from  the  positive  declarations  of  the 
Scriptures.  Here  there  are  three  classes  of  passages. 
I .  Commands  addressed  to  civil  officers  in  their  official 
capacity.  "Be  wise  now,  therefore,  O  ye  kings;  be 
instructed,  ye  judges  of  the  earth;  serve  the  Lord  in 
fear;  kiss  the  Son."  "Kings  and  judges"  include  all 
civil  officers,  supreme  and  subordinate.  "Serve  the 
Lord"  meas  to  take  his  will  as  the  supreme  standard. 
"Kiss  the  Son"  is  loyally  to  recognize  him  as  the  di- 


CHRIST  THE  KING  OF  NATIONS.  ,    215 

vinely  appointed  Ruler.  When  Samuel  had  anointed 
Saul,  the  king  of  Israel,  he  kissed  him  and  said:  "Is 
it  not  because  the  Lord  hath  anointed  thee  to  be  king 
over  his  people?"  "Kiss  the  Son" — acknowledge  him 
as  the  divinely-appointed  King  in  this  land.  And  how 
can  our  nation  better  discharge  that  duty  than  by 
making  a  constitutional  recognition  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  King  of  kings?  The  fact  is,  this  nation 
has  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  on  its  hands.  The  question 
is,  What  will  we  do  with  our  King?  Will  we  unite 
with  his  enemies  and  say:  "Away  with  him!"  or  will 
we  unite  with  his  friends  and  say: 

"Bring  forth  the  royal  diadem, 
And  crown  him  Lord  of  all  ?" 

Epictetus  was  a  stoic  philosopher  in  Rome  during  the 
reign  of  Nero.  He  wrote:  "Dare  to  look  up  to  God 
and  say,  Deal  with  me  in  the  future  as  thou  wilt;  I  am 
of  the  same  mind  as  thou  art;  I  am  thine;  I  refuse 
nothing  that  pleases  thee;  iead  me  where  thou  wilt; 
clothe  me  in  any  dress  thou  choosest."  The  National 
Reform  Association  is  seeking  to  unite  all  American 
citizens  who  can  look  up  into  the  face  of  the  King  of 
kings  and  use  these  words:  "Thine  are  we,  David,  and 
'on  thy  side,  thou  son  of  Jesse." 

2.  The  titles  applied  to  Christ.  He  is  called  "The 
Governor  among  the  nations,"  "God's  first-born, 
higher  than  the  kings  of  any  land,"  "the  Prince  of  the 
kings  of  the  earth,"  "King  of  kings"  and  "Lord  of 
lords."  These  are  not  empty  titles.  The  Scriptures 
would  not  mock  the  Savior  by  applying  terms  to  him 
without  a  meaning.  There  is  a  fact  lying  behind  each 


216  RE  FORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

one  of  these  titles.  And  that  fact  is,  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  divinely-appointed  King  of  nations.  The 
question  is:  Will  we  recognize  that  great  fact?  The 
War  of  the  Rebellion  was  caused  by  the  Southern 
States  refusing  to  recognize  the  anthority  of  the  Gov- 
ernment at  Washington.  The  authority  of  the  General 
Government  is  not  more  certainly  over  every  State  in 
the  Union  than  is  the  authority  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  over  every  nation  of  the  earth.  And  the  differ- 
ent States  in  the  Union  are  not  under  more  obligation 
to  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  the  General  Govern- 
ment than  is  every  nation  of  the  world  to  acknowledge 
the  authority  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  nations 
are  in  rebellion  against  him.  But  he  has  received  au- 
thority to  rule  in  the  midst  of  the  rebellious.  "And 
he  must  rule  until  all  his  enemies  be  made  his  foot- 
stool. "  Once  there  was  a  rebellion  in  England.  A 
great  army  of  mutinous  subjects  was  mustered.  They 
marched  to  London  and  encamped  before  the  city. 
But  they  had  no  leader  to  whom  they  would  entrust 
themselves  in  making  the  assault.  Days  were  spent 
in  wrangling.  At  this  juncture  the  king  came  out,  un- 
armed and  unattended,  entered  the  camp,  and  offered 
himself  as  their  leader.  The  shout  arose  simultane- 
ously from  every  quarter,  "God  save  the  king."  They 
were  won  forever.  The  nations  are  in  rebellion  against 
the  King  of  kings.  They  are  also  at  strife  with  one 
another  as  to  who  shall  be  greatest.  By  and  by  Im- 
manuel  will  appear  in  the  midst  of  them,  calling  upon 
them  to  bow  to  him;  and  then  all  will  say:  "Blessed 
is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord." 


CHRIST  THE  KING  OF  NATIONS.  217 

3.  The  prophetic  declarations,  "All  nations  shall 
serve  him,"  "All  the  mighty  kings  of  earth  shall  bow 
down  before  him."  When  the  seventh  trumpet  sounded 
there  were  voices  in  heaven  saying:  "The  kingdoms 
of  this  world  are  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord 
and  of  his  Christ,  and  he  shall  reign  forever  and  ever." 
The  last  three  verses  of  the  52d  chapter  of  Isaiah  and 
all  the  53d  chapter  form  one  separate  oracle.  The 
theme  is  "The  sufferings  of  Christ  and  the  glory  which 
should  follow."  The  position  of  the  seer  is  between 
the  cross  and  the  throne.  He  sees  the  suffering  past; 
he  sees  the  glory  to  come.  It  is  written  somewhat  in 
the  form  of  a  dialogue.  There  are  four  parts:  (a.)  God 
the  Father  speaks  from  the  excellent  glory,  declaring 
the  glory  of  the  Messiah  as  following  and  growing  out 
of  his  humiliation,  sufferings  and  death.  52:  13-15. 
(b.)  The  complaint  of  the  early  evangelists  that  so 
few  of  the  Jews  believed  their  report  of  these  facts. 
53:  i.  (c.)  The  response  of  the  Jewish  converts  to 
this  complaint,  assigning  the  reason  why  the  Jews  re- 
jected Christ.  It  was  on  account  of  the  meanness  of 
his  origin — "a  root  out  of  dry  ground;"  the  abjectness 
of  his  external  appearance — "no  form  or  comeliness" — 
and  the  number,  variety  and  severity  of  his  sufferings — 
"stricken,  smitten  of  God  and  afflicted."  Coupled  with 
this  is  a  fuller  account  of  the  origin,  history,  character, 
and  results  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ.  53:  2-10. 
(d.)  God  the  Father  again  speaks,  confirming  the  dec- 
laration. The  Messiah,  in  the  midst  of  his  sufferings, 
is  the  object  of  his  complacential  love,  and  this  love  is 
discovered  in  exalting  him  to  his  own  right  hand  and 


218  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

clothing  him  with  all  authority.  53:  n,  12.  "He 
shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  and  shall  be  satis- 
fied." "All  nations  shall  serve  him."  The  object  of 
the  National  Reform  Association  is  to  realize  the  ful- 
fillment of  this  prophecy. 

The  book  of  Revelation  may  be  regarded  as  history 
written  beforehand.  The  author  divides  it  into  three 
parts:  The  things  that  he  had  seen,  the  vision  of  the 
first  chapter;  the  things  that  are,  the  letters  to  the 
seven  churches,  in  the  second  and  third  chapters;  and 
the  things  that  shall  be  hereafter,  the  prophetical  part 
of  the  book,  extending  from  the  fourth  chapter  to  the 
close.  The  prophecy  is  introduced  by  a  vision  in  the 
fourth  and  fifth  chapters,  in  which  we  have  brought 
to  our  view  the  constitution  of  the  mediatorial  govern- 
ment. God  the  Father  occupies  the  throne  in  the  ex- 
cellent glory.  In  his  hand  is  a  sealed  book,  repre- 
senting his  secret  purposes.  When  no  creature  could 
take  the  book  or  look  thereon,  Jesus  came  forward  and 
took  it,  indicating  that  God's  purposes  have  been  com- 
mitted to  him  for  execution.  The  book  discloses  three 
septenaries,  seven  seals,  seven  trumpets  and  seven 
vials.  These  may  represent  three  distinct  periods  in 
the  Church's  history — the  seal  period,  the  trumpet 
period  and  the  vial  period.  The  seal  period  repre- 
sents the  mediatorial  judgments  upon  Rome  Pagan, 
beginning  with  the  time  of  the  Apostle  and  continuing 
to  323  A.  D.,  when  Constantine  came  to  the  purple. 
Paganism  went  down  and  Christianity  ascended  the 
throne  of  the  Caesars.  The  breaking  of  the  seventh 
seal  brings  upon  the  stage  seven  angels,  with  seven 


CHRIST  THE  KING  OF  NATIONS.  219 

trumpets.  The  blowing  of  these  trumpets  represents 
Christ's  judgment  upon  Rome  nominally  Christian. 
Constantine  removed  the  capital  from  Rome  to  Con- 
stantinople. This  was  the  entering  wedge  to  the 
division  of  the  empire,  so  that  henceforth  we  have  the 
Eastern,  or  Greek  Empire,  with  its  Greek  Church,  and 
the  Western,  or  Latin  Empire,  with  its  Latin  Church. 
The  first  four  trumpets  represent  the  divine  judgments 
on  the  Latin  Empire,  and  bring  it  down  to  456  A.  D., 
when  Rome  became  a  tributary  dukedom.  The  next 
three  woe  trumpets  represent  God's  judgment  on  the 
Greek  Empire,  bringing  up  the  Saracen  cavalry  and 
compassing  its  destruction  in  1453,  when  Constantino- 
ple fell  before  the  Ottoman  power.  The  blowing  of 
the  seventh  trumpet  brings  seven  other  angels  on  the 
stage,  with  seven  vials  full  of  the  seven  last  plagues. 
These  represent  the  mediatorial  judgments  upon  Anti- 
Christ — the  Roman  hierarchy,  the  apostacy  of  history. 
The  first  vial  was  poured  out  in  the  First  Reformation. 
The  sixth  v,ial  is  being  poured  out  to-day  on  the  river 
Euphrates,  drying  it  up,  i.  e.,  Turkey  in  Europe  grad- 
ually being  disintegrated.  When  that  is  completed, 
the  Apostle  sees  three  unclean  spirits,  like  frogs,  com- 
ing up,  one  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  dragon,  another 
out  of  the  mouth  of  the  beast,  and  a  third  out  of  the 
mouth  of  the  false  prophet,  representing,  perhaps, 
heathenism,  Mohammedanism  and  Roman  Catholicism. 
These  form  an  alliance  on  the  field  of  Armageddon, 
and  then  the  seventh  vial  is  poured  out  upon  them, 
bringing  an  unprecedented  hailstorm  from  above  and 
a  great  earthquake  from  beneath,  and  swallowing  up 


220  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

these  enemies  of  the  King.  And  then  the  angel  pro- 
claims in  the  heavens,  "The  kingdoms  of  this  world 
are  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  his 
Christ,  and  he  shall  reign  forever  and  ever."  The  Na- 
tional Reform  Association  has  the  eye  of  its  faith  fixed 
upon  this  grand  consummation. 

There  are  two  marks  by  which  a  psalm  may  be  known 
to  be  Messianic:  First,  where  you  have  a  descrip- 
tion of  a  perfection  of  character  and  conduct,  a  depth 
of  humiliation,  a  number,  variety  and  severity  of  suffer- 
ings, a  suddenness  and  completeness  of  delivery,  a 
hight  of  exaltation  and  a  universality  and  permanence 
of  dominion,  which  can  be  true  only  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ;  second,  where  the  psalm  is  quoted  in  the  New 
Testament  and  applied  to  Christ.  The  i8th  Psalm 
bears  both  these  marks.  The  theme  of  the  psalm  is 
"The  sufferings  of  Christ  and  the  glory  which  should 
follow."  According  to  Dr.  Brown,  the  author  divides 
it  into  six  parts: 

1.  The  prelude,  or  poem.     Vs.    1-3.     Ln   this,  the 
Messiah    addresses    the    Father  as  his  rock,  fortress,, 
shield,  etc.,  indicating  that  God  would  preserve  him  in 
the  midst  of,  and  ultimately  deliver  him  from,  all  ene- 
mies and  dangers. 

2.  The  Messiah's  sufferings,  his  exercises  under  those 
suffering,  and  the  results  of  those  exercises.    Vs.  4-6. 
He  was  overwhelmed  with  the  floods,  bound  with  the 
cords,  and  entangled  in  the  snares  of  death.     He  cried 
to  God.     God  heard  and  answered  him. 

3.  His  preternatural  deliverance.     Vs.  7-19.      God 
entered  his  chariot  and  came  down.     When  it  touched 


CHRIST  THE  KING  OF  NATIONS.  ^     221 

the  earth,  the  earth  shook  to  its  center.  It  is  en- 
swathed  in  clouds  of  smoke.  The  lightnings  flash,  the 
burning  coals  beneath  his  feet.  He  shoots  out  his 
arrows  and  scatters  the  enemy.  A  great  revolution 
follows;  the  sea  becomes  dry  land;  the  dry  land,  sea; 
the  channels  of  the  waters  were  discovered.  He  drew 
the  Messiah  out  of  deep  waters.  He  brought  him  out 
of  prison  and  gave  him  large  liberty,  because  he  de- 
lighted in  him. 

4.  His  prayer  of  thanksgiving  for  deliverance.    Vs. 
20-31:    "The    Lord    rewarded    me    according   to    my 
righteousness.     To  the  merciful  thou  wilt  show  thyself 
merciful." 

5.  The    Messiah's    conquest    of    the    nations.      Vs. 
32-42.     He  pursued  and  overtook  them.      He  leaped 
over  the  wall  and  cast  them  out  like   dirt  that  lies  in 
the  street. 

6.  His  universal  and  permanent  dominion.     Vs.  43- 
50:  "Thou  hast  made  me  the  head  of  the  heathen;  a 
people  whom  I  have  not  known  shall  serve  me."    And 
he  shall  reign  forever  and  ever.     This  last  the  National 
Reform  Association  is  seeking  to  realize. 

These  prophecies  are  yet  to  have  their  fulfillment. 
Will  our  nation  put  herself  in  line,  and  endeavor  to 
realize  their  accomplishment?  God  has  called  us  to 
take  the  lead  among  the  nations  in  bringing  in  the 
millennial  reign.  A  writer  in  the  Bibliotheca  Sacra 
has  said:  "All  the  lines  of  history  point  to  America  as 
the  place,  and  the  present  age  as  the  time,  when  the 
true  relation  between  the  human  and  the  divine  in  civil 
affairs  shall  be  realized." 


222  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

Seven  cities  competed  for  the  honor  of  being  the 
birthplace  of  Homer.  The  National  Reform  Associa- 
tion is  seeking  to  have  this  nation  enjoy  the  honor  of 
being  the  first  to  bring  back  King  Jesus  whom  the 
Jewish  nation  rejected  and  exalt  him  to  the  throne  in 
this  land. 

V.  It  follows  from  the  duties  which  the  reigning 
Mediator  requires  of  nations. 

I.  He  requires  a  constitutional  recognition  of  him- 
self as  King  of  nations.  The  chief  end  of  national  ex- 
istence is  embodied  in  the  command,  "Honor  the 
King."  For  refusing  to  do  this,  Nebuchadnezzar  was 
sent  forth  to  eat  grass  like  an  ox,  and  the  impious  Bel- 
shazzar  was  vilely  cast  down.  Nations  are  Christ's 
subjects,  and  must  formally  acknowledge  him.  The 
Constitution  of  every  State  in  the  Union  must  contain 
a  recognition  of  the  General  Government.  So  the 
Constitution,  written  or  unwritten,  of  every  nation, 
must  acknowledge  "the  Governor  among  the  nations." 
The  Constitution  is  the  nation's  letter  of  instruction  to 
its  government,  directing  how  its  will  shall  be  carried 
out.  That  "letter  of  instruction"  should  reflect  the 
moral  character  and  purpose  of  the  nation.  The  Con- 
stitution is  "the  translation  into  legal  language  of  the 
forces  of  the  nation. "  And  as  it  calls  into  exercise 
the  great  powers  with  which  God  has  clothed  the  na- 
tion, it  should  recognize  the  sovereignty  of  him  who  is 
the  source  of  all  authority  and  power.  The  Constitu- 
tion is  the  nation's  declaration  of  principles,  and  so 
should  contain  a  clear,  distinct  and  explicit  recognition 
of  the  authority  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  "King 


CHRIST  THE  KING  OF  NATIONS.  223 

of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords,"  and  the  nation's  pledge 
to  serve  and  obey  him.  The  Constitution  is  the  sail- 
ing chart  of  the  Ship  of  State,  which  is  fixed  and  set- 
tled for  all  circumstances  of  wind  and  weather,  and  the 
position  of  the  bright  and  morning  star,  and  the  path 
of  the  ecliptic,  along  which  the  Sun  of  righteousness 
moves,  should  be  clearly  marked.  The  Constitution 
is  the  supreme  law  of  the  land,  and  as  "any  law  that 
contravenes  the  law  of  God  is  no  law  at  all,"  it  should 
fully  acknowledge  the  absolute  supremacy  of  the  divine 
law.  "There  is  a  law  higher  than  the  Constitution." 
But  our  Constitution  does  none  of  these  things.  We 
are  obnoxious  to  the  judgments  of  the  reigning  Medi- 
ator. Being  a  moral  person,  a  nation  is  as  much  bound 
to  acknowledge  its  obligations  to  Christ's  throne  as  the 
individual.  It  will  not  do  to  say  our  Christian  usages 
are  sufficient.  It  must  be  a  formal  and  authoritative 
recognition  of  her  King.  Here  is  a  man  who  never 
swears,  or  steals,  or  blasphemes,  or  lies,  or  profanes 
the  Sabbath.  He  is  a  perfect  Pharisee.  But  he  re- 
fuses to  profess  the  name  of  Christ.  What  will  you 
say  of  that  man's  religion?  You  say,  It  is  vain.  He 
is  deceiving  himself.  He  is  living  in  open  violation  of 
Christ's  known  command  to  profess  his  name  before 
men,  and  to  avail  himself  of  the  seals  of  the  covenant. 
So  the  nation  may  have  a  multitude  of  religious  cus- 
toms and  usages,  all  distinctively  Christian,  yet  so  long 
as  she  refuses  or  fails  to  publicly  profess  her  allegiance 
to  Christ's  throne,  it  is  all  a  vain  show.  The  words  of 
Christ  are  true  of  nations  as  well  as  individuals,  "He 
that  is  not  for  me  is  against  me."  But  the  Constitu- 


224  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

tion  is -the  nation's  mouth-piece,  the  nation's  declara- 
tion of  principles,  and  so  long  as  there  is  no  distinct 
and  explicit  recognition  of  God's  throne  found  there, 
the  nation  is  in  an  attitude  of  rebellion  against  him.  She 
is  upon  the  side  of  his  enemies,  just  as  certainly  as  a 
family  that  neglects  family-worship  is  distinctively 
worldly;  or  the  Unitarians  and  Jews,  who  refuse  to 
pray  in  the  name  of  Christ,  are  avowedly  against  him. 
It  is  evidently  the  nation's  duty  to  formally  recognize 
Christ's  mediatorial  authority  in  her  Constitution.  In- 
stead of  thus  acknowledging  him,  there  has  been  a 
studied  omission  of  his  name.  In  thirty-seven  out  of 
forty-two  State  Constitutions  God  is  recognized  (Ken- 
tucky, Louisiana,  Michigan,  Oregon  and  West  Virginia 
are  silent),  but  not  one  recognizes  Christ. 

In  the  hour  of  the  nation's  trial,  in  1863,  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States  honored  the  King  of  kings.  That 
body  asked  President  Lincoln  to  appoint  a  day  for 
national  confession  of  sin  against  God,  "encouraged," 
as  they  expressed  it,  "in  this  day  of  trouble  by  the 
assurances  of  his  word  to  seek  him  for  succor  according 
to  his  appointed  way  through  Jesus  Christ. "  But 
when  President  Harrison  was  earnestly  requested  to 
make  a  suitable  recognition  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
in  his  first  Thanksgiving  proclamation  he  entirely  ig- 
nored him.  As  a  nation,  in  and  through  our  Consti- 
tutional Government,  we  ignore  the  name  and  honor  of 
"the  Lord's  Anointed  One."  Not  one  of  the  Thanks- 
giving proclamations  of  our  Presidents  contains  "the 
Name  that  is  above  every  name. "  With  two  or  three 
exceptions  the  Governors  of  our  States  have  ignored 


CHRIST  THE  KING  OF  NATIONS.  ^        225 

him  in  their  proclamations.  The  Governor  of  Penn- 
sylvania, in  his  Thanksgiving  proclamation,  made  the 
recognition  of  Jesus  which  his  Christian  heart  prompted, 
and  had  his  paper  printed.  But  when  a  Jew  objected, 
he  recalled  it,  and  erased  all  reference  to  the  King  of 
kings.  The  infamy  reached  its  climax  in  a  town  yon- 
der in  Western  Pennsylvania,  when  the  Christian  min- 
isters and  their  churches  united  with  a  Jewish  rabbi  and 
his  synagogue  in  a  Thanksgiving  service  and  agreed 
not  to  mention  the  name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  in  the 
service.  The  Methodist  minister  protested,  and  would 
not  take  part  in  the  service.  Oh,  the  ingratitude,  to 
exclude  Christ  from  his  house!  Are  we  not  posing  as 
a  Christian  nation  with  Christ  left  out?  Are  we  not 
guilty  of  the  highest  degree  of  ingratitude? — a  vice  "so 
odious  among  upright  men  that  even  the  heathen  King 
Philip  of  Macedon  once  branded  a  previously  favorite 
soldier  in  the  forehead  with  the  words,  'the  ungrateful 
guest?  in  punishment  of  an  outrage  upon  a  citizen  by 
whom  the  soldier  had  been  befriended  in  time  of 
need."  He  has  said:  "My  glory  will  I  not  give  to 
another."  "Hear  ye,  acknowledge  my  might." 

Porsenna,  the  King  of  Clusium,  in  Etruria,  laid 
siege  to  Rome  at  the  instigation  of  Tarquin  the  Proud, 
who  had  been  expelled  from  the  City  of  Seven  Hills. 
This  caused  great  suffering  within  the  walls.  Three 
hundred  of  the  noblest  Roman  youths  swore  that  they 
would  slay  him  at  the  peril  of  their  lives.  The  lot  fell 
on  C.  Mucius.  He  entered  the  Etruscan  camp  in  dis- 
guise. Not  knowing  Porsenna,  he  slew  his  secretary 
instead.  He  was  at  once  seized.  Approaching  a  red- 


226  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

hot  altar  he  laid  his  arm  upon  it  until  it  was  consumed. 
Then,  turning  to  the  King,  he  said:  "Rome  is  full  of 
men  ready  for  such  sacrifice."  This  terrified  the  King, 
and  he  made  peace  with  Rome.  Whether  this  story, 
as  told  by  Livy  for  history,  be  legendary  or  not,  it 
illustrates  the  power  of  consecration.  Mucius  was 
consecrated  to  Rome.  Archbishop  Cranmer,  when 
brought  to  the  stake,  resolves  that  the  hand  that  had 
signed  his  recantation  should  perish  first,  and  so  he 
holds  it  in  the  flames  until  it  fell  from  his  body.  He 
did  this  for  Christ's  sake, 

I  have  recently  seen  a  little  book  entitled,  "Three 
Modern  Martyrs,  Livingstone,  Gordon  and  Patteson.  " 
The  author  holds  them  up  to  show  that  the  spirit  of 
entire  consecration  has  not  perished  from  the  earth. 
The  National  Reform  Association  wishes  to  enlist  con- 
secrated men  and  women,  those  who  are  willing  to  do 
and  endure  any  and  every  thing  in  his  name;  who 
would  rather  go  to  prison  and  death  than  sacrifice  their 
sacred  honor  or  trample  upon  a  single  blood-bought 
principle;  who  will  not  consult  with  flesh  and  blood, 
but,  moved  by  the  impulse  of  a  noble  purpose  and 
high  resolve,  will  pass  though  fire  and  flood  to  victory. 

2.  A  constitutional  recognition  of  their  duty  as  the 
divinely-appointed  keeper  of  the  moral  law.  Moses 
gave  this  charge  to  the  nation  of  Israel:  "Behold  I 
have  taught  you  statutes  and  judgments,  even  as  the 
Lord  my  God  commanded  me,  that  ye  should  do  so  in 
the  land  whither  ye  go  to  possess  it.  Keep,  there- 
fore, and  do  them;  for  this  is  your  wisdom  and  your 
understanding  in  the  sight  of  the  nations.  And  what 


CHRIST  THE  KING  OF  NATIONS.  f     227 

nation  is  so  great  that  hath  statutes  and  judgments  so 
righteous  as  all  this  law  which  I  set  before  you  this 
day."  Their  chief  magistrate  was  directed  "to  write 
him  a  copy  of  this  law  in  a  book,"  and  to  read  it  "all 
the  days  of  his  life,  that  he  may  learn  to  fear  the  Lord 
his  God,  to  keep  all  the  words  of  this  law,  and  these 
statutes  to  do  them."  To  Joshua  it  was  said:  "This 
book  of  the  law  shall  not  depart  out  of  thy  mouth; 
but  thou  shalt  meditate  therein  day  and  night;  that 
thou  mayest  observe  to  do  according  to  all  that  is 
written  therein."  David  charges  Solomon,  his  suc- 
cessor: "Be  thou  strong  and  show  thyself  a  man;  and 
keep  the  charge  of  the  Lord  thy  God,  to  walk  in  his 
ways,  to  keep  his  statutes,  and  his  commandments, 
and  his  judgments,  and  his  testimonies  as  it  is  written 
in  the  law  of  Moses."  These  commands  are  constitu- 
tional law.  Therefore,  the  nation  should  make  them 
such. 

3.  A  constitutional  provision  of  moral  and  religious 
qualifications  for  their  officers.  The  Scriptures  specify 
these  qualifications.  A  talent  for  politics:  "Woe  unto 
thee,  O  land,  when  thy  king  is  a  child!  Thou  shalt 
provide  out  of  all  the  people  able  men.  Take  ye  wise 
men  of  understanding,  and  I  will  make  them  rulers 
over  you."  Morality:  "Moreover,  thou  shalt  provide 
out  of  all  the  people  men  of  truth,  hating  covetous- 
ness.  He  that  ruleth  over  men  must  be  just.  Mercy 
and  truth  preserve  the  king.  If  a  ruler  hearken  to 
lies,  all  his  servants  are  wicked.  It  is  not  for  kings,  O 
Lemuel,  it  is  for  kings  to  drink  wine,  nor  for  princes 
strong  drink,  lest  they  drink  and  forget  the  law,  and 


228  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

pervert  the  judgment  of  any  of  the  afflicted.  "  "Thou 
shalt  provide  out  of  all  the  people  such  as  fear  God. 
He  that  ruleth  over  men  must  be  just,  ruling  in  the 
fear  of  God."  The  fear  of  God  is  the  very  sum  and 
essence  of  true  piety.  And  it  would  seem  that  a  pro- 
fession of  religion  is  implied  in  the  Canon:  "One 
from  among  thy  brethren  thou  shalt  set  over  thee; 
thou  mayest  not  set  a  stranger  over  thee  who  is  not  thy 
brother. "  Natural,  moral  and  religious  qualifications 
are  required.  Officers  must  be  "men  of  excellent 
abilities,  of  unimpeachable  character,  and  of  sound 
piety."  Hence,  it  follows  that  weak  and  ignorant  men, 
drunkards,  libertines,  Sabbath-breakers,  profane  swear- 
ers, atheists,  infidels,  plotting  Jesuits,  and  ranting 
heretics  should  be  constitutionally  prohibited  from 
holding  office.  We  want  men  such  as  Shakespeare 
describes: 

"His  words  are  oaths,  his  oaths  are  oracles, 
His  love  sincere,  his  thoughts  immaculate, 
His  tears  pure  messengers  sent  from  his  heart, 
His  heart  as  far  from  fraud  as  heaven  from  earth." 

4.  An  acknowledgment  and  an  exemplification  of 
the  duty  of  national  covenanting  with  him.  The  na- 
tion of  Israel  entered  into  covenant  with  him  at  Sinai. 
Afterward  she  renewed  that  covenant,  not  once  or 
twice.  The  prophet,  speaking  of  New  Testament 
times,  says:  "In  that  day  shall  five  cities  in  the  land 
of  Egypt  speak  the  language  of  Canaan,  and  swear  to 
the  Lord  of  hosts."  "Thou  shalt  no  more  be  termed 
Forsaken;  neither  shall  thy  land  be  termed  Desolate; 
but  thou  shalt  be  called  Hephzibah,  and  thy  land 


CHRIST  THE  KING  OF  NATIONS.  229 

Beulah:  for  the  Lord  delighteth  in  thee,  and  thy  land 
shall  be  married."  A  "land"  is  a  nation,  and  "to  be 
married  to  the  Lord"  is  to  be  in  covenant  with  him. 
This  fact  has  been  exemplified  in  France,  Germany, 
Switzerland  and  the  Netherlands.  The  National  Cove- 
nant of  Scotland,  and  the  Solemn  League  entered  into 
by  Scotland,  England  and  Ireland,  are  a  fulfillment  of 
the  prophecy.  They  were  national  oaths  of  allegiance 
to  the  Messiah.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  nation  so  to 
do. 

5.  An  acknowledgment  and  performance  of  the  na- 
tion's duty  to  guard  and  protect  the  Church.  By  sup- 
pressing all  public  violation  of  the  moral  law,  by  main- 
taining a  system  of  public  schools,  indoctrinating  their 
youth  in  the  principles  of  morality  and  virtue,  and  by 
exempting  church  property  from  taxation,  the  prophecy 
is  fulfilled:  "Kings  shall  be  her  nursing  fathers,  and 
queens  her  nursing  mothers."  By  providing  her  funds 
out  of  the  public  treasury  for  carrying  on  her  aggress- 
ive work  at  home  and  in  the  foreign  field,  the  prophe- 
cies are  accomplished:  "The  kings  of  Tarshish  and  of 
the  isles  shall  bring  presents;  the  kings  of  Sheba  and 
Seba  shall  offer  gifts.  He  shall  live,  and  to  him  shall 
be  given  of  the  gold  of  Sheba." 

IV.  It  follows  from  the  fact  that  he  administers  the 
judgments  of  God  upon  rebellious  nations.  "The  Father 
judgeth  no  man,  but  hath  committed  all  judgment  to 
the  Son."  The  treasures  of  wrath,  as  well  as  the  treas- 
ures of  mercy,  are  at  his  disposal,  and  he  pours  out 
the  one  upon  his  enemies,  the  other  upon  his  friends. 
Take  Nebuchadnezzar's  dream.  •  The  image,  with  its 


230  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

head  of  gold,  the  Chaldean  Empire;  its  arms  of  silver, 
the  Medo-Persian  Empire;  its  belly  and  thighs  of 
brass,  the  Grecian  Republic;  its  legs  of  iron,  the  Ro- 
man Empire  in  its  Greek  and  Latin  divisions;  the  toes, 
part  of  iron  and  part  of  miry  clay,  the  ten  kingdoms 
of  Europe;  all  were  smitten  by  the  kingdom  of  the 
stone  and  became  as  chaff  of  the  summer's  threshing- 
floor.  Babylon,  that  mighty  city,  the  terror  of  the 
earth,  behind  its  granite  walls  and  brazen  gates  seemed 
destined  to  remain  forever  "the  beauty  of  the  Chaldee's 
excellency."  But  when  "the  little  stone  cut  out  with- 
out hands"  smote  its  defenses,  they  melted  away  like 
snow  beneath  a  vernal  sun.  The  Medo-Persian  Em- 
pire, with  its  boundless  wealth,  its  vast  territory  and 
its  great  and  well-disciplined  armies,  seemed  immuta- 
ble as  the  mountains;  but  the  blast  of  the  "stone" 
brought  it  to  the  dust  when  the  mighty  conqueror, 
Alexander  the  Great,  entered  Persepolis,  the  wonder 
of  the  world,  and  reduced  it  to  ashes.  The  Grecian 
Republic,  whose  Macedonian  soldiers,  clad  in  their 
armor  of  brass,  had  followed  their  leader  until  there 
were  no  more  worlds  to  conquer,  crumbled  and  fell 
when  smitten  by  the  "stone."  The  Roman  Empire — 
with  its  cities  and  highways;  its  invincible  legions, 
"conquering  every  barbarous  tribe  and  every  civilized 
people  whom  their  march  anywhere  discovered;  its 
galleys,  with  their  iron  beaks,  crushing  all  opposition 
on  the  seas" — seemed  steadfast  as  the  earth.  But  she 
was  crushed  beneath  a  succession  of  calamities  and 
judgments.  The  barbarian  hordes  from  the  North 
swept  over  her.  Attila,  "the  scourge  of  God,"  boasted 


CHRIST  THE  KING  OF  NATIONS.  231 

that  "the  grass  never  grew  where  the  hoof  of  his  horse 
had  trodden."  Genseric  came  from  the  burning  shores 
of  Africa  and  sacked  Rome  fourteen  times.  The  Goth, 
the  Vandal  and  the  Hun  thundered  at  her  gates,  and 
she  fell.  Then  was  that  dark  picture  in  Apocalypse 
realized:  "The  sun  became  black  as  sackcloth  and  hair, 
the  moon  became  as  blood,  the  stars  of  heaven  fell  to 
the  earth;  and  all  the  chief  captains,  and  every  bond- 
man and  every  freeman  called  on  the  rocks  and  moun- 
tains to  fall  on  them  and  hide  them  from  the  face  of 
him  who  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  from  the  wrath 
of  the  Lamb  " 

Canon  Farrar  delivered  a  sermon  before  the  stu- 
dents of  Cambridge,  in  1873,  on  "The  Voices  of  God 
in  History."  He  said:  "What  matter  their  force,  their 
splendor,  their  multitude,  if  they  stand  before  the 
mighty  slow-moving  chariot  of  the  Eternal  God  ?  Is 
it  the  Kenite  ?  'Strong  is  thy  dwelling-place,  and 
thou  puttest  thy  nest  in  a  rock;  nevertheless  the  Ke- 
nite shall  be  wasted.'  Is  it  Assyria  ?  'The  Lord,  the 
Lord  of  Hosts,  shall  send  among  his  fat  ones  leanness, 
and  kindled  under  his  glory  a  burning  fire.'  Is  it 
Egypt  ?  Her  wise  magicians  shall  be  smitten  with 
fatuity,  and  the  papyrus  of  her  rivers  fade.  Is  it  gold- 
en Babylon,  the  city  of  the  oppressor?  The  dead 
moving  at  his  coming,  ask  her  king  with  gibbering 
taunts,  'Art  thou  also  become  weak  as  we?  Art  thou 
become  like  unto  us?'  Is  it  purple  Tyrus  with  her 
priceless  merchandise?  'Take  a  harp,  go  about  the 
city,  thou  harlot,  thou  hast  been  forgotten.'  And  so 
with  all.  'The  nations  shall  rush  like  the  rushing  of 


REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 


many  waters,  but  God  shall  rebuke  them,  and  they 
shall  flee  afar  off,  and  shall  be  chased  as  the  chaff  of 
the  mountains  before  the  winds,  and  like  a  rolling  thing 
before  the  whirlwind.  And  behold  at  even-tide 
trouble;  and  before  the  morning  he  is  not.'  'This,'  ex- 
claims the  prophet  in  a  flame  of  triumphant  zeal,  'this 
is  the  portion  of  them  that  spoil  us,  and  the  lot  of  them 
that  rob  us-.'  " 

Look  at  Europe  to-day  !  There  is  as  little  cohesion 
as  iron  and  miry  clay.  Nihilism  in  Russia,  Communism 
in  France,  Socialism  in  Germany,  the  Black  Hand  in 
Spain,  and  Vaticanism  in  Italy,  indicate  the  presence 
of  hidden  forces  more  dangerous  than  .dynamite, 
Germany  and  France  are  only  separated  by  a  single 
river,  and  are  longing  to  be  at  war.  England,  with 
home-rule  difficulties  in  Ireland,  and  threatened  dis- 
integration abroad,  is  driven  to  the  wall.  Her  greatest 
statesmen  are  at  their  wits'  end.  What  mean  the 
great  armaments  of  Europe,  five  millions  under  arms 
and  ten  millions  more  who  have  spent  the  best  part  of 
their  days  in  preparing  for  active  service?  The  Con- 
queror is  riding  forth,  and  he  proposes  to  have  the 
homage  of  those  nations — peaceably,  if  they  will  ; 
forcibly,  if  he  must.  "I  will  overturn,  overturn,  over- 
turn it  ;  and  it  shall  be  no  more,  until  he  comes  whose 
right  it  is;  and  I  will  give  it  him." 

In  the  light  of  these  facts  let  us  look  at  our  own 
nation.  Matthew  Arnold  said,  "America  holds  the 
future. "  Separated  by  three  thousand  miles  of  sea 
from  the  despotisms  of  Europe,  and  by  four  thousand 
from  the  effete  kingdoms  of  the  East,  it  is  beautiful 


CHRIST  THE  KING  OF  NATIONS.  233 

for  situation.  A  territory  equal  to  that  of  all  Europe, 
twice  as  much  arable  land  west  of  the  Mississippi 
river  as  east  of  it,  it  is  capable  of  sustaining  and 
enriching  one  thousand  millions  of  people.  There  are 
two  hundred  thousand  square  miles  of  coal-fields — 
thirty-eight  times  that  of  all  England.  A  mountain  in 
Montana  is  85  per  cent  pure  sulphur.  It  is  marvelous 
in  its  resources;  "a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey. " 

"Africa  has  high  mountains  in  the  east  and  low  in 
the  west.  America  has  high  mountains  in  the  west 
and  low  in  the  east.  The  earth  rolls  out  of  the  west 
into  the  east.  This  causes  westward  currents.  The 
clouds  floating  westward  are  drained  by  Africa's  east- 
ern mountains  and  hence  her  great  deserts.  The 
clouds  pass  over  America  and  until  they  are  drained 
by  the  western  mountains.  We  have  no  deserts. 
Take  your  compass  and  set  one  foot  on  Manitoba  and 
open  them  until  the  other  foot  reaches  a  point  on  the 
north  where  the  bison  and  its  young  have  been  seen 
grazing  on  the  loth  of  May.  That  is  the  limit  of  the 
wheat  belt.  Then  turn  your  compass  and  the  foot  dips 
in  the  Atlantic,  in  the  Gulf,  in  the  Pacific.  That  is  the 
American  wheat  field.  Our  population  is  doubling 
every  thirty  years.  Gladstone  says,  by  the  year  2000 
we  will  have  800,000,000. " 

It  is  just  such  a  country  as  we  would  expect  the 
Mediator  to  prepare  as  the  home  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty.  It  is  a  striking  providence  that  Luther  was 
only  nine  years  old  when  Columbus  was  sailing  west 
to  discover  America  ;  so  that  while  Luther,  Calvin, 
and  the  Reformers  were  announcing  the  principles  of 


234  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

religious  liberty  on  the  Continent,  God  was  opening  up 
a  home  for  them  in  the  West.  It  is  a  striking  provi- 
dence that,  by  the  flight  of  birds,  Columbus  was 
carried  southward,  taking  his  Roman  Catholicism  to 
South  America,  reserving  North  America  for  Protest- 
antism. This  country  was  settled  by  Christian  men 
with  Christian  ends  in  view.  But,  strange  to  say,  in 
setting  up  this  government  they  ignored  the  claims  of 
the  King  of  kings.  Our  Constitution  does  not  contain 
the  name  of  God.  It  is  silent  as  the  grave  respecting 
the  authority  and  law  of  the  reigning  Mediator.  It  is 
a  secular  instrument.  Morally,  it  is  a  compact  of 
political  atheism.  What  are  the  facts? 

"We,  the  people,"  is  the  first  clause.  We  believe  in 
a  government  "of  the  people,  by  the  people  and  for 
the  people."  In  so  far  as  it  is  the  people's  right  to 
make  the  Constitution,  elect  their  own  officers  and  de- 
termine the  policy  of  the  administration,  civil  govern- 
ment is  "an  ordinance  of  man."  But  it  is  also  an 
ordinance  of  God.  Christ  says:  "By  me  kings  reign 
and  princes  decree  justice."  He  is  the  supreme  author- 
ity; the  ultimate  appeal.  But  in  our  Constitution  "we, 
the  people,"  have  arrogated  to  themselves  this  pre- 
rogative. Is  not  that  political  atheism?  "When  the 
President  is  inaugurated  he  shall  swear  or  affirm." 
Every  President  after  George  Washington  and  before 
R.  B.  Hayes  took  the  oath  of  office  without  an  appeal 
to  God,  the  very  essence  of  the  oath.  Rev.  A.  M. 
Milligan,  D.  D.,  of  Pittsburgh,  wrote  President  Lin- 
coln, in  1861,  asking  if  he  would  not  take  the  Presi- 
dential oath  in  the  name  of  God.  He  replied:  "The 


CHRIST  THE  KING  OF  NATIONS.  235 

relations  between  the  Northern  and  Southern  States 
are  so  strained  I  would  not  dare  violate  the  letter  of 
the  Constitution.  The  name  of  God  is  not  in  that  in- 
strument." He  took  the  oath  without  an  appeal  to  God, 
omitting  the  very  essence  of  the  oath.  The  Bible  says: 
"Thou  shalt  fear  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  swear  by  his 
name"  The  framers  of  our  Constitution  took  this 
Bible  oath,  and  with  the  penknife  of  Jehoiakim  cut  off 
the  name  of  God  and  introduced  the  mutilated  oath 
into  that  instrument.  Does  not  that  look  like  political 
atheism?  Again:  "No  religious  test  shall  ever  be 
required  as  a  qualification  for  office  of  trust  in  these 
United  States."  Chief-Justice  Story,  in  his  "Com- 
mentaries on  the  Constitution,"  said:  "This  provision 
means  that  the  Pagan,  the  Mohammedan,  the  Jew,  the 
Christian  and  the  Infidel  shall  sit  down  in  common  at 
the  tables  of  our  national  council."  The  Bible  says: 
"Choose  out  able  men,  men  of  truth,  fearing  God  and 
hating  covetousness,  and  place  such  to  be  rulers  over 
you. "  A  talent  for  politics,  integrity,  a  heartfelt  re- 
gard for  the  will  of  God,  are  required;  but  our  Con- 
stitution sets  aside  these  qualifications,  and  makes  way 
for  the  enemies  of  truth  and  righteousness.  Is  not  that 
political  atheism?  Moreover,  "Congress  shall  make  no 
law  respecting  the  establishment  of  religion,  nor  pro- 
hibit the  free  exercise  thereof."  Eight  years  after  the 
adoption  of  this  Constitution,  Congress  made  a  treaty 
with  Tripoli  which  has  never  been  called  in  question 
as  to  its  constitutionality.  It  says:  "This  govern- 
ment is  in  no  sense  founded  upon  the  Christian  relig- 
ion, and  makes  no  distinction  between  the  Christian 


236  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

and  the  Mussulman."  In  1808,  President  Jefferson  was 
petitioned  by  the  New  England  ministers  to  proclaim 
a  fast.  He  refused.  He  said:  "I  am  interdicted  by 
the  Constitution  from  doing  anything  that  pertains  to 
religion."  In  1858,  the  Sabbath  laws  of  California 
were  tried  in  the  Supreme  Court.  Judge  Terry  de- 
cided them  unconstitutional,  because  they  are  a  dis- 
crimination in  favor  of  Christianity,  and  so  against 
those  religions  that  are  not  Christian.  Judge  Burnet 
coincided  with  him.  Since  then  California  has  had  no 
Sabbath  law.  »In  1869,  the  Bible  was  tried  in  the  Su- 
preme Court  at  Cincinnati  for  being  in  the  public 
schools.  Judge  Welsh  decided  that,  since  the  words, 
"Bible,  Christian  and  Christianity,"  do  not  occur  in  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  the  word  "religion" 
there  must  mean  "man's  religion."  The  Bible  has  no 
right  in  the  public  schools.  Ex-President  Woolsey 
said,  in  the  Evangelical  Alliance,  in  New  York,  in  1873, 
"Our  Constitution  would  require  no  change  to  be 
adapted  to  a  Mohammedan  nation."  What  need  we 
any  further  witness!  Furthermore:  "This  Constitu- 
tion, and  all  the  laws  made  in  pursuance  thereof,  shall 
be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land."  In  1828,  Congress 
passed  a  law  that  the  United  States  mail  shall  be  car- 
ried on  the  Sabbath,  and  to  this  day  our  nation  has 
been  breaking  the  Fourth  Commandment  bylaw  made 
in  pursuance  of  the  Constitution.  Our  government 
collects  $95 ,000,000  revenue  on  whisky  annually.  This 
is  blood-money.  The  law  is  made  in  pursuance  of  the 
Constitution.  We  need  say  no  more.  The  facts  fit 
the  claim.  Our  Constitution  is  a  compact  of  political 


CHRIST  THE  KING  OF  NATIONS.  ^    237 

atheism.  In  adopting  it,  we  virtually  said:  "O  King 
of  kings,  we  propose  to  run  this  nation  independent 
of  you,  in  the  name  of  'we,  the  people.'"  The  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  has  a  controversy  with  this  nation,  and 
unless  we  put  away  our  rebellion  and  bow  to  his  scep- 
ter, we  surely  shall  be  broken  in  pieces.  "The  adver- 
saries of  the  Lord  shall  be  broken  in  pieces.  Out  of 
heaven  shall  he  thunder  upon  them." 

It  was  the  sad  fate  of  Cassandra,  the  prophetess  of 
Troy,  to  foretell  the  destruction  of  her  city  and  not  to 
be  believed.  The  National  Reform  Association  is 
warning  this  nation  of  the  coming  judgments  of  God 
except  she  repent  and  swear  allegiance  to  the  "King 
of  kings,"  and  it  remains  to  be  seen  whether  or  not 
the  message  will  be  received. 

In  a  sermon  preached  in  Clifton  College  by  Canon 
Farrar  on  "Working  with  our  Might,"  this  passage  oc- 
curs: "At  a  time  when  society  was  corrupted,  hollow 
to  its  heart's  core,  there  was  one — his  name  was  Ar- 
'mand  de  Ranee — who  lived  in  that  glittering  world 
with  immense  applause.  Rich,  noble,  eloquent,  hand- 
some, he  drank  the  cup  of  pleasure  to  the  dregs,  and 
by  God's  grace,  while  yet  young,  found  it  unutterably 
bitter.  For  a  time  he  fell  into  despair;  everything 
seemed  to  fall  to  dust  in  his  hand,  to  slip  into  ashes  at 
his  touch.  But  he  was  not  one  who,  as  it  were,  longed 
only  to  purchase  a  cheap  forgiveness,  and  then  clutch 
at  every,  not  absolutely  forbidden,  comfort.  No; 
having  sinned  and  suffered  and  been  forgiven,  he 
felt  that  henceforth  his  life  was  consecrated,  not  to 
easy  pietisms,  but  to  heroic  endeavors.  He  shook  off 


238  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES, 

everything — wealth,  love,  home,  fame — and  retired  to 
a  monastery,  deep  among  the  gloomy  mountain-woods, 
where,  as  you  approach,  you  pass  three  pillars  of  iron, 
and  on  the  first  of  these  is  engraved  the  word  "Char- 
ity," and  on  the  second  "Brotherly  Union,"  and  on  the 
third  "Silence."  To  this  monastery  he  retired,  and 
found  it  in  a  condition  truly  frightful.  The  few  monks 
left  in  it  were  corrupt,  degraded,  and  ignorant  to  the 
last  degree.  Among  them  he  went  alone,  but  with  the 
avowed  hope,  the  avowed  purpose,  of  reforming — un- 
armed, save  by  the  face  of  God,  and  that  strong,  solid 
champion  conscience.  Many  attempts  were  made  to 
waylay  and  murder  him;  one  monk  tried  to  shoot  him 
in  open  day.  But  De  Ranee  never  flinched.  He 
worked  with  his  might,  and,  God  helping  him,  he  pros- 
pered. His  most  violent  persecutors  became  his  most 
steadfast  friends.  The  monk  who  shot  at  him  became 
a  most  humble  and  holy  penitent.  And  thus,  in  the 
irresistible  might  of  a  firm  purpose  and  a  holy  courage, 
did  one  man  triumph  over  his  own  enemies  and  the 
enemies  of  God.  He  came  to  a  den  of  robbers  and 
left  it  a  hpuse  of  prayer.  " 

The  National  Reform  Association  has  entered  the 
polluted  temple  of  our  civil  and  political  life.  They 
are  there  to  purify  it.  And  from  this  purpose  they 
will  not  swerve  until  the  work  is  done.  If  the  old 
Spartans  loved  their  commonwealth,  we  love  our  Re- 
public more.  The  poet  could  say,  "Dear  city  of  Ce- 
crops;"  we  can  say,  "Dear  Citadel  of  Liberty. "  To 
exalt  and  establish  our  nation  is  the  object  of  this  so- 
ciety. 


CHRIST  THE  KING  OF  NATIONS.  239 

The  Savior  tells  of  two  builders,  one  a  wise  man 
and  the  other  a  fool.  The  only  difference  seems  to 
have  been  in  the  foundation.  They  seem  to  have  been 
equally  industrious  and  skillful.  They  likely  built  upon 
the  same  plan  and  used  the  same  material,  and  their 
houses  were  equally  beautiful  and  serviceable.  The 
only  difference  was,  one  built  on  the  sand,  the  other 
on  a  rock.  The  day  of  trial  came.  It  always  does. 
The  rains  decended,  the  floods  came,  the  winds  blew 
and  beat  upon  the  first  house  and  it  fell.  The  rains 
decended,  the  floods  came,  the  winds  blew  and  beat 
upon  the  second  house  and  it  fell  not.  It  was  founded 
upon  the  rock.  We  have  been  too  long  imitating  the 
first  builder.  Our  national  temple  is  built  upon  the 
sands  of  public  opinion.  The  day  of  trial  is  coming, 
and  if  we  persist  in  this  folly  our  work  will  perish, 
and  we  will  be  a  byeword  to  future  ages.  Let  us  plant 
our  national  temple  upon  the  Great  Rock,  and  then 
the  gates  of  hell  can  not  prevail  against  us.  The  rains 
of  political  discord  may  descend,  the  floods  of  dissen- 
sion prevail,  the  winds  of  party  strife  become  boisterous 
and  beat  upon  it,  it  will  stand — stand  firm  as  the  Rock 
of  Ages. 

VII.  It  follows  from  the  fact  that  he  blesses 
those  nations  that  serve  and  obey  him.  "Blessed 
is  the  nation  whose  God  is  the  Lord."  The  na- 
tion of  Israel  reached  the  meridian  of  her  glory  in 
the  reign  of  King  Solomon,  when  her  temple  arose 
proudly  upon  Mount  Moriah,  and  all  her  covenant 
obligations  were  observed.  Then  was  the  beautiful 
prophecy  fulfilled  :  "How  goodly  are  thy  tents,  O 


240  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

Jacob,  and  thy  tabernacles,  O  Israel!  As  the  valleys 
are  they  spread  forth,  as  gardens  by  the  river's  side, 
as  the  trees  of  lign  aloes  which  the  Lord  hath  planted, 
and  as  cedar  trees  beside  the  waters.  He  shall  pour 
the  waters  out  of  his  buckets,  and  his  seed  shall  be  in 
many  waters,  and  his  king  shall  be  higher  than  Agag, 
and  his  kingdom  shall  be  exalted."  The  most  pros- 
perous period  in  the  history  of  Scotland  was  between 
1638  and  1649,  when  the  covenants,  National  and 
Solemn  League,  were  in  vogue.  A  contemporary  his- 
torian expresses  his  belief  that  there  were  more  souls 
converted  to  Christ  in  that  short  period  of  time  than 
in  any  other  period  since  the  Reformation,  though  of 
treble  its  duration  ;  nor  was  there  ever  greater  plenty 
and  purity  of  the  means  of  grace  than  was  in  that  time. 
"A  sacred  principle  was  then  infused  into  the  heart  of 
nations  which  can  not  perish  ;  a  light  then  shone  into 
the  world's  darkness  which  can  not  be  extinguished  ; 
and  generations  not  remote  may  see  that  principle 
quickening  and  evolving  in  all  its  irresistible  might, 
and  that  light  bursting  forth  in  all-brightening  glory." 
— Hetherington. 

Let  our  nation  plant  herself  upon  the  granite  rock 
of  God's  truth,  and  swear  allegiance  to  King  Jesus,  and 
immediately  the  light  will  break  upon  us.  Then  will 
our  unprecedented  crops  of  the  present  year  be  as  the 
falling  of  the  first  autumnal  leaves  compared  with  the 
great  harvests  that  will  then  be  gathered.  Prosperity 
will  take  up  her  triumphal  march  through  our  land — 
our  garners  will  be  filled  with  plenty  and  our  presses 
burst  out  with  new  wine;  peace,  truth  and  righteous- 


CHRIST  THE  KING  OF  NATIONS.  241 

ness  will  flow  down  our  streets  as  a  mighty  stream; 
the  golden  cord  of  love  will  be  a  telegraphic  communi- 
cation between  us  and  the  mediatorial  throne,  and  one 
universal  song  will  hang  on  our  lips,  "Glory  to  God  in 
the  highest,  on  earth  peace,  good  will  toward  men." 
Then  will  iniquity,  as  ashamed,  hide  its  head.  The  en- 
emies of  our  liberties  will  be  worse  panic  stricken  than 
the  provincial  council  in  the  monastery  of  Greyfriars 
when  the  announcement  was  made,  "John  Knox  slept 
in  Edinburgh  last  night!"  Peace  will  reign  in  Zion 
and  prosperity  within  her  palaces.  When  the  great 
Humboldt  stood  on  the  mountains  of  the  equatorial  re- 
gions, amidst  their  gorgeous  forests  and  foliage,  their 
unsurpassed  flowers,  their  genial  warmth,  and  under 
the  brilliant  constellations  of  the  south,  his  heart  burst 
out  in  an  effusion  of  pity  and  sympathy  toward  the 
inhabitants  of  other  parts  of  the  earth.  "How  unhap- 
py," said  he,  "are  those  members  of  the  human  race 
who  are  doomed  to  live  in  those  melancholy  regions 
which  we  call  temperate  zones!"  We  shall  then  enjoy 
all  the  luxuriance  and  glory  of  the  tropics.  The  Son 
of  righteousness  will  shine  fully  upon  us.  "The  light 
of  the  moon  shall  be  as  the  light  of  the  sun,  and  the 
light  of  the  sun  seven-fold  as  the  light  of  the  sun  of 
seven  days,  in  the  day  that  the  Lord  bindeth  up  the 
breach  of  his  people,  and  healeth  the  stroke  of  their 
wound.'' 


CHAPTER   XIII. 


CHRISTS    HEADSHIP    OVER   HIS    CHURCH. 

The  head  is  the  high,  commanding,  vital  and  essential 
member  of  the  human  body.  "It  is  the  most  elevated 
and  influential,  the  crowning  and  ruling  organ;  the 
source  of  motion  and  sensation,  and  the  seat  of  intellect 
of  emotion.  It  is  at  once  the  palace  and  the  throne 
of  the  soul,  whence  that  invisible  occupant  issues  his 
mandates  to  the  body,  impels  its  motions,  regulates 
and  controls  all  its  members."  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
is  declared  to  be  "the  head  of  his  body,  the  church.  V 
This  headship  was  constituted  in  eternity  when  the 
Father  and  Son  entered  into  the  covenant  of  grace: 
"I  was  set  up  from  the  beginning,  from  everlasting;'* 
"I  appoint  unto  you  a  kingdom,  as  my  Father  hath 
appointed  unto  me."  The  Son  is  the  head  of  the 
Church  "by  paction  and  appointment;  and  she  is  his 
body  by  donation,  purchase,  and  conquest,  and  by  the 
dedication,  profession,  and  choice  of  her  members." 

I.  The  Mediator  is  the  Church's  originating  head. 
The  Church  is  not  a  human  device.  She  is  neither  "a 
self- originated  nor  a  self-constituted  body."  She 
exists  by  the  arrangement,  appointment,  and  con- 
trivance of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  He  is  her  "ever- 
lasting Father,"  or  the  Father  of  an  everlasting 
kingdom:  "He  is  before  all  things,  and  by  him  all 


CHRIST >S  HEADSHIP  OVER  HIS  CHURCH.          243 

things  consist;  and  he  is  the  head  of  the  body,  the 
Church,  who  is  the  beginning."  He  is  the  architect  of 
this  spiritual  temple:  "For  this  person  was  counted 
worthy  of  more  glory  than  Moses,  inasmuch  as  he  who 
hath  builded  the  house  hath  more  honor  than  the 
house. "  He  is  the  creator,  upholder,  proprietor  and 
governor  of  his  Church — her  "all  presiding  head." 

II.  He  is  the  life-giving  head  of  the  Church.  The 
head  is  the  seat  and  source  of  life  in  the  body.  Dr. 
Guthery  has  used  this  illustration:  Paralyze  those 
nerves  that  connect  the  members  with  the  head,  and 
their  powers  are  all  gone,  just  as  the  current  of  elec- 
tricity ceases  to  flow  when  the  wire  connecting  the 
batteries  has  been  cut:  the  eye  ceases  to  see,  the  ear 
ceases  to  hear,  the  tongue  tastes  neither  the  sweetness 
of  honey  nor  the  bitterness  of  wormwood,  and  there 
is  not  power  left  to  move  your  foot — no,  not  though  it 
were  to  save  your  life.  Sever  the  head  from  the  body 
c  nd  the  action  ceases,  just  as  the  wheels  of  a  mill  stop 
when  the  band  connecting  them  with  the  throbbing 
engine  below  has  been  cut.  "Only  his  head  is  taken 
off,"  remarked  a  stoical  soldier  on  the  field  of  battle, 
when  a  cannon  ball  had  left  the  headless  trunk  of  their 
drummer  boy.  "Ah!"  replied  his  comrade,  "but  the 
head  is  the  man."  You  hear  the  sound  of  a  bullet 
whistling  in  the  air,  you  hear  the  word  given  for  the 
trap-spring  of  the  gallows  to  be  touched,  you  see  the 
sword  gleam  in  the  sunlight,  and — "there  is  a  corpse; 
he  is  dead,  stone  dead."  Christ  is  the  vital  head  of 
his  Church:  "Not  holding  the  head,  from  which  all 
the  body,  by  joints  and  bands,  having  nourishment 


244  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

ministered,  and  knit  together,  increaseth  with  the 
increase  of  God;"  "And  gave  him  to  be  the  head  over 
all  things  to  the  Church,  which  is  his  body,  the  fullness 
of  him  that  nlleth  all  in  all." 

Vital  influences  descend  from  Christ  as  the  head,  to 
us,  the  members  of  his  body.  As  there  is  not  a  thought 
conceived,  nor  a  word  spoken,  nor  an  act  performed, 
but  that  it  originates  in  the  brain;  so  there  is  not  a  good 
thought  conceived,  nor  a  good  word  spoken,  nor  a  good 
act  performed,  but  that  Christ  is  the  fountain  head.  Sep- 
arate from  Christ,  my  soul-life  is  nothing  more  than  the 
eye  plucked  from  the  socket,  or  the  hand  severed  from 
the  bleeding  arm.  Separate  from  Christ,  my  spiritual 
nature  sickens  and  dwindles,  and  withers  and  dies: 
"There  goes  Bradford;  but  for  the  grace  of  God,"  used 
to  be  the  remark  of  that  old  worthy  when  he  saw  a 
criminal  led  out  to  execution.  We  owe  everything  to 
redeeming  grace.  It  is  grace  that  restrains  these  cor- 
rupt natures  of  ours.  It  is  grace  that  quiets  the  jeal- 
ousies of  guilt  in  the  soul,  calms  the  tumult  of  passions, 
and  overmasters  every  opposing  influence  that  would 
keep  us  secular,  and  impure,  and  miserable.  It  is  grace 
that  opens  our  hearts  to  receive  and  feed  upon  the  truth, 
that  makes  intercession  in  our  hearts  when  we  offer 
prayer  to  God,  and  enables  us  to  sing  those  songs  of 
Zion  with  the  spirit  and  with  the  understanding  also. 

This  grace  is  indestructible.  It  is  the  power  of  an 
endless  life.  It  is  everlasting  life:  "Because  I  live  ye 
shall  live  also."  Those  who  are  united  to  Christ  shall 
live  as  long  as  the  Mediator  lives  in  heaven:  "They 
shall  never  perish."  Sooner  shall  the  stars  in  their 


CHRISrS  HEADSHIP  OVER  HIS  CHURCH.          245 

courses  cease  obeying  the  behest  of  Jehovah;  sooner 
shall  the  oath  of  eternal  truth  be  broken ;  sooner  shall 
the  adversary  scale  the  battlements  of  heaven  and  de- 
throne the  Sovereign  of  the  universe:  "For  I  am  per- 
suaded that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor 
principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor 
things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other 
creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of 
God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 

III.  He  is  the  Church's  regal  head.  Seated,  as  be- 
comes a  king,  in  the  highest  place,  the  head  gives  or- 
ders to  all  the  members  of  the  body.  The  nerves  are 
a  system  of  telegraphy  through  which  it  sends  out  its 
commands.  At  its  behest  the  eye  opens  and  shuts, 
the  hand  rests  or  moves,  the  tongue  speaks  or  remains 
silent.  It  is  the  most  absolute  monarch  in  the  world. 
Its  subjects  never  mutiny,  they  never  hatch  any  con- 
spiracies. Pattern  of  the  obedience  which  we  should  ren- 
der to  the  Redeemer,  they  give  immediate,  implicit,  and 
unquestioning  obedience  to  every  command  of  the 
head.  Take  the  hand.  When  Cranmer  was  executed 
for  his  faith,  he  resolved  that  the  hand  that  had  signed 
his  recantation  should  perish  first,  so  he  held  it  in  the 
flames  until  it  fell  from  the  body.  The  members  yield 
absolute  submission  to  the  head. 

Christ  is  the  ruling  head  of  his  Church:  "I  have  set, 
anointed,  my  king  in  my  holy  hill  of  Zion;"  "Let  the 
children  of  Zion  be  joyful  in  their  king,"  and  trium- 
phantly exclaim:  "The  Lord  is  our  judge,  the  Lord  is 
our  law-giver,  the  Lord  is  our  king;  he  will  save  us;" 
"My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world."  He  is  the  legis- 


246 


REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 


lative  and  judicial  head  of  the  Church.  He  gave  to 
the  Old  Testament  Church  her  ceremonial  law  and  or- 
dinances'and  ministers.  In  the  fullness  of  time,  he  re- 
pealed these  and  instituted  other  and  simpler  forms  for 
the  New  Testament  Church.  To  this  power  the  prophet 
alludes  when  he  said:  "For  unto  us  a  Child  is  born, 
unto  us  a  Son  is  given,  and  the  government  (or  sov- 
ereignty) shall  be  upon  his  shoulder,"  in  reference  to 
the  sceptre,  or  key,  the  symbol  of  power,  which  was 
anciently  borne  upon  the  shoulder:  "Behold  the -man 
whose  name  is  the  Branch,  and  he  shall  grow  up  out  of 
his  place,  and  he  shall  build  the  temple  of  the  Lord, 
and  bear  the  glory,  and  shall  sit  and  rule  upon  his 
throne;  and  the  counsel  of  peace  shall  be  between 
them  both.  "  He  is  the  supreme  executive  head  of  the 
Church:  "As  the  head  is  the  supreme  executive  organ 
of  the  human  body,  so  is  Christ  the  supreme  adminis- 
trator of  the  kingdom  of  grace."  He  is  not  here  in 
the  flesh.  He  is  the  nobleman  who  has  taken  his  jour- 
ney into  a  far  country,  and  left  his  kingdom  in  the 
hands  of  trusty  servants.  They  act  in  his  name  and 
are  answerable  to  him.  Appeal  can  always  be  had  to 
the  tribunal  above,  for  "we  shall  all  stand  before  the 
judgment  seat  of  Christ."  He  is  the  sole  and  exclu- 
sive head  of  the  Church:  "As  the  head  of  the  body  is 
one,  so  Christ  is  the  one  and  only  head  of  the  Church. 
The  Father  hath  placed  the  crown  of  ecclesiastical  su- 
premacy upon  his  head,  and  he  refuses  to  share  it  with 
any  deputy  under  heaven.  He  has  delegated  his  in- 
communicable headship  to  none;  neither  to  popes,  nor 
princes,  patriarchs  nor  parliaments.  Such  heads  are 


CHRIST'S  HEADSHIP  OVER  HIS  CHURCH.          247 

daring  intruders,  and  sacrilegious  usurpers  of  a  por- 
tion of  that  authority  which  legally  belongs  to  the  one 
and  only  head.  We  read  that  he  gave  to  some  apos- 
tles, to  some  prophets,  to  some  pastors  and  teachers; 
but  nowhere  do  we  read  that  he  gave  either  popes 
or  princes  to  be  supreme  ministerial  heads." — James 
Ferguson,  Lectures  on  the  Second  Reformation. 

What  would  the  President  of  the  United  States 
think  if  his  ministers  were  subject  to  a  foreign  dictation? 
Would  he  not  indignantly  inquire:  "Who  is  supreme 
in  these  parts?"  And  yet  the  deluded  sons  and 
daughters  of  popery  and  prelacy  have  transferred 
allegiance  from  Zion's  only  King  and  head  to  mere 
usurpers.  Let  us  lift  up  the  cry  of  treason  against  all 
such  invasions  of  the  crown  rights  and  royal  prerog- 
atives of  King  Jesus: 

"Bear  aloft  our  Zion's  banner, 

Crimsoned  o'er  with  martyrs'  blood, 
It  hath  waved  thro'  lapse  of  ages, 
Undestroyed  by  fire  or  flood. 

"On  the  field  of  deadly  combat, 

It  hath  waved  amid  the  strife, 
And  our  fathers,  to  preserve  it, 
Peril'd  fortune,  home,  and  life." 

This  doctrine  of  Christ's  regal  headship  over  his 
church  has  been  violently  assailed  by  the  enemies  and 
resolutely  defended  by  the  friends  of  the  kingdom. 
When  the  Apostles,  Peter  and  John,  were  commanded 
not  to  speak  at  all  nor  teach  in  the  name  of  Jesus, 
they  boldly  replied:  "Whether  it  be  right  to  harken 
unto  you  more  than  unto  God,  judge  ye;  for  we  can 
not  but  speak  the  things  we  have  seen  and  heard." 


248  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

Martin  Luther  sounded  the  keynote  of  the  first 
Reformation  in  his  celebrated  saying:  "Over  the  soul 
God  can  and  will  allow  no  one  to  rule  but  himself.'' 
John  Calvin,  in  his  great  argument  for  the  Reformation, 
challenged  all  who  would  attempt  to  drive  them  from 
this  eternal  truth:  "Ply  your  fagots!'5  No  country  has 
been  honored  as  Scotland  to  suffer  and  testify  for  this 
truth.  Even  away  back  when  the  lights  of  lona  were 
extinguished,  it  was  kept  burning  in  the  lonely  cloisters 
and  rude  sanctuaries  of  Culdee  worship.  It  was  the 
beacon-light  that  heralded  the  good  news  of  the 
church's  existence  during  the  long  night  of  the  Plant- 
agenet  and  Tudor  reigns.  This  doctrine  took  the  lead 
in  the  centre  of  the  current  of  the  second  Reformation. 
The  bold  and  sturdy  Covenanters  contested  by  inches 
the  intrusions,  encroachments,  dictations,  and  violence 
of  Prelacy,  and  fearlessly  resisted  the  usurpations  of 
their  impudent  and  sacrilegious  king.  Charles  I.  was 
compelled  to  abandon  his  determination  to  maintain 
his  supremacy  in  Church  and  State  even  at  the  expense 
of  blood  and  treasure,  and  to  grant  them  a  free  Assem- 
bly and  a  free  Parliament,  and  allow  all  ecclesiastical 
matters  to  be  settled  by  the  one,  and  all  all  civil  mat- 
ters by  the  other.  On  the  restoration  of  Charles  II. 
in  1660,  the  Scottish  Parliament  enacted  that,  before 
he  ascend  the  throne,  he  must  take  oath  to  maintain 
this  civil  and  religious  liberty.  This  he  did,  protesting 
that  he  acted  in  the  sincerity  of  his  heart.  "But,  ap- 
palling to  relate,  little  sooner  had  he  the  reins  of 
government  in  his  hands,  than  he  violated  this  obliga- 
tion, abolished  Presbytery,  revived  Prelacy,  and 


CHRIST'S  HEADSHIP  OVER  HIS  CHURCH.         249 

brought  the  head  of  the  pious  and  patriotic  Duke  of 
Argyle  to  the  block — the  very  nobleman  that  had 
placed  the  crown  upon  his  head.  A  blacker  deed  of 
perfidy,  profligacy  and  perjury  the  sun  himself  has 
never  shown  upon."*  And  here  began  that  long  and 
dark  and  stormy  night  of  twenty-eight  years  of  per- 
secution, known  in  history  as  the  killing  times. 
Twenty-eight  years  of  fines  and  punishments,  tests  and 
forfeitures,  tortures,  and  banishment,  and  death. 
Twenty-eight  years  of  wasting  their  lives  upon  the 
high  places  of  the  field,  rather  than  abandon  the  pas- 
tors of  their  choice,  or  be  driven  by  the  soldiers  to 
listen  to  the  worthless  and  soul-starving  hirelings  of 
the  supremacy.  Twenty-eight  years  the  bloody  dra- 
goons, scouring  their  country,  insulting,  plundering, 
and  destroying  as  they  listed,  the  best  and  bravest  in 
the  land,  while  their  wives,  who  beheld  these  savage 
barbarities,  gathered  up  the  shattered  remains  of  their 
husbands,  wrapped  them  in  their  winding  sheets,  and 
sat  down  and  bedewed  them  with  their  tears.  Twenty- 
eight  years  their  heads  and  the  palms  of  their  hands 
affixed  in  the  most  conspicuous  places  of  the  kingdom 
for  the  purposes  of  intimidation  and  disgrace,  while 
their  bodies  were  left  to  moulder  in  the  moss  hags,  or 
upon  the  mountains. 

But  this  reign  of  blood,  in  which  eighteen  thousand 
Covenanters  fell,  came  to  an  end.  Heaven  smiled 
upon  the  noble  efforts  of  these  heroes  of  the  Covenant, 
and  in  the  Revolution  of  1688,  William,  Prince  of 
Orange,  came  to  the  throne  and  proclaimed  liberty 

*  Shields'  Hind  Let  Loose. 


250  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

throughout  all  the  land  to  all  the  inhabitants  thereof.  The 
headship  of  Christ  forms  the  rising  spire  of  the  great  tem- 
ple of  the  Second  Reformation.  It  continues  to  occupy 
that  position  to-day,  and  there  it  will  remain  forever. 

IV.  He  is  the  protecting  head  of  the  Church.  The 
head  is  the  defence  of  the  body.  To  this  end  it  is  in 
communication  with  all  the  members.  Let  the  foot 
strike  a  thorn;  intelligence  is  sent  up  one  set  of  nerves 
to  the  head  and  orders  are  sent  back  another  set  of 
nerves  for  the  foot  to  withdraw;  orders  are  also  sent  to 
the  hands  to  give  assistance,  to  the  eyes  to  examine 
and  report,  and  to  the  tongue  to  call  for  help;  and  all 
this  is  done  instantly.  Christ  is  the  protecting  head  of  his 
body,  the  Church:  "Salvation  hath  God  appointed  for 
walls  and  bulwarks;"  "O  my  dove,  that  art  in  the  cleft 
of  the  rock,  in  the  secret  place  of  the  precipice;" 
"Behold  his  bed,  which  is  Solomon's:  three-score 
valiant  men  are  about  it  of  the  valiant  of  Israel;  they 
all  bear  swords,  being  expert  in  war,  every  man  hath 
his  sword  girded  on  his  thigh  because  of  fear  in  the 
night."  The  ancient  Jewish  Church  was  preserved  in 
"the  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey"  for  fifteen 
hundred  years,  though  the  nations  about  them  thirsted 
for  their  blood  and  plotted  to  cut  them  off.  Pagan 
Rome  made  war  upon  the  infant  Church;  but  in  three 
centuries  Paganism  went  down  and  Christianity 
ascended  the  throne  of  the  Caesars.  Papal  Rome 
carried  her  war  of  extermination  to  such  a  length  that 
the  Church  cried  out: 

"Avenge,  O  Lord,  thy  slaughtered  saints,  whose  bones 
Lie  scattered  on  the  Alpine  mountains  cold." 


CHRIST'S  HEADSHIP  OVER  HIS  CHURCH.  ^      251 

But  in  the  first  Reformation,  Christianity  arose  from 
the  ashes  of  the  martyrs,  and  the  saints  were  exalted 
to  heaven  in  influence  and  power.  Prelacy  persecuted 
the  Church  in  Scotland  until,  in  the  brief  and  terribly 
emphatic  terms  of  the  historian  concerning  the  Roman 
conquests:  "They  made  a  solitude,  they  called  it 
peace.  "  But  the  Church  conquered  by  enduring.  Her 
armor  of  truth  is  invincible: 

"Truth,  crushed  to  earth,  will  rise  again, 
The  eternal  years  of  God  are  hers. " 

To-day  the  Church  is  being  assailed  by  scepticism 
whose  name  is  legion,  because  they  are  many;  but  the 
issue  is  not  doubtful.  The  highest  possible  point  to 
which  this  ever-rising  tide  of  opposition  can  attain, 
according  to  the  prophet,  is  even  unto  the  neck. 
This  flood  of  error  and  persecution  can  never  reach 
the  Church's  head ;  and  while  the  head  is  above  water, 
the  body  is  safe.  The  Church  is  secure;  no  weapon 
that  is  formed  against  Zion  shall  prosper.  As  the 
mountains  are  round  about  the  valleys;  as  the  rocks  of 
the  shore  gird  the  sea,,  so  the  arms  of  God's  love 
are  around  his  people.  Our  covenant  God  is  a  wall  of 
fire  about  us,  and  himself  the  glory  in  our  hearts: 
"Walk  about  Zion,  and  go  round  about  her;  tell  the 
towers  thereof,  mark  ye  well  her  bulwarks,  consider 
her  palaces,  that  ye  may  tell  it  to  the  generation 
following. " 

V.  He  is  the  everlasting  head  of  his  Church.  The 
Church  has  different  dispensations:  the  patriarchal, 
Jewish,  Christian,  millennial  and  glorified;  but  it  is  the 
same  Church  with  the  same  head  throughout.  The  un- 


252  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

believing  Jews  were  cut  oft  and  the  believing  Gentiles 
grafted  in ;  but  Christ  remains  the  one  head  of  his  Church, 
visible  and  invisible,  militant  and  triumphant,  collect- 
ive and  several:  "For  the  head  of  every  man  is  Christ.'* 
The  mode  of  administration  may  change  at  the  resur- 
rection and  final  judgment,  but  Christ  remains  the  eter- 
nal and  immutable  head  of  the  glorified  body: 

"  Thy  kingdom  hath  none  end  at  all, 
It  shall  through  ages  all  remain." 


CHAPTER    XIV. 


THE   RESURRECTION   OF   CHRIST. 

"The  Lord  is  risen  indeed."— LUKE  xxiv.  34. 

The  body  of  Christ  was  taken  down  from  the  cross, 
wrapped  in  fine  linen,  and  laid  in  the  new  tomb  of 
Joseph  before  sunset  Friday  evening.  It  lay  in  the 
grave  for  about  thirty-six  or  forty  hours,  the  part  of 
three  days,  which,  according  to  Jewish  reckoning,  was 
the  time  spoken  of  as  three  days  during  which  death 
should  have  dominion  over  him.  It  was  raised  on  the 
morning  of  the  first  day  of  the  week,  very  early;  not 
long  before  the  coming  of  the  women  with  spices,  who 
entered  the  garden  just  as  the  guards  fled  into  the  city 
to  give  the  alarm.  The  great  mystery  of  the  assump- 
tion of  life  by  him  who  was  truly  dead  occurred  amidst 
the  most  awful  convulsions  of  nature.  "There  was  a 
great  earthquake,  for  the  angel  of  the  Lord  descended 
from  heaven,  and  came  and  rolled  away  the  stone  from 
the  door  of  the  sepulchre,  and  sat  upon  it.  His  coun- 
tenance was  like  lightning,  and  his  raiment  white  as 
snow,  and  for  fear  of  him  the  keepers  did  shake,  and 
became  as  dead  men."  Thus  God  signified  the  tran- 
scendent importance  of  this  event.  Thus  the  Son  of 
God  exercised  his  power  in  taking  again  the  life  which 
no  man  conld  take  from  him,  but  which  he  laid  down 
of  himself.  And  thus  the  Father,  "according  to  the 


254  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

working  of  his  mighty  power,"  fulfilled  that  Messianic 
prophecy,  "that  the  soul  of  his  Holy  One  should  not 
be  left  in  the  separate  state,  and  that  his  body  should 
not  see  corruption."  The  resurrection  of  Christ  is  re- 
garded by  his  enemies  as  the  very  citadel  of  Christian- 
ity. The  fierce  assaults  made  by  the  Sadducees  upon 
it,  then  by  Celsus,  Porphyry  and  Julian,  and  later  by 
by  Spinoza,  the  English  Deists  and  German  natural- 
ists, indicate  that  they  all  entertained  the  conviction 
of  Strauss:  "That  Christianity,  in  the  form  in  which 
Paul,  in  which  all  the  apostles  understood  it,  as  it  is 
presupposed  in  the  confessions  of  all  the  Christian 
churches,  falls  with  the  resurrection  of  Jesus."  But 
the  resurrection  of  Christ  does  not  fall.  It  stands  upon 
the  most  abundant  evidence.  It  is  established  by  the 
most  infallible  proofs.  And  with  it  Christianity  stands. 

I.  As  an  historic  fact,  the  resurrection  of  Christ  is 
the  testimony  of  God  to  his  Messiahship.  "With  what 
good  reason  the  language  of  exultation,  'The  Lord  is 
risen  indeed,'  is  yet  ever  repeated,  is  apparent  from  a 
glance  at  a  series  of  witnesses  who  cannot  be  refuted, 
and  of  facts  which  can  not  be  explained  on  the  suppo- 
sition that  the  Lord  remained  in  the  grave." — Prof. 
Van  Oosterzee.  Let  us  examine  the  evidence: 

i.  The  empty  tomb.  That  the  sepulchre  was  found 
empty  on  the  morning  of  the  third  day  is  an  indubita- 
ble fact.  The  only  satisfactory  or  plausible  explanation 
of  it  is  the  resurrection.  Only  one  other  has  been  of- 
fered and  it  is  self-condemning.  The  Roman  soldiers 
were  bidden  to  say,  "the  disciples  came  and  stole  him 
away  while  we  slept."  The  story  bears  evidence  of 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  255 

collusion  on  the  face  of  it.  The  Jews  guarded  against 
such  an  occurrence  by  "sealing  the  stone  and  setting  a 
a  watch."  And  then  they  bribed  their  own  guards  to 
testify  falsely. 

2.  The  appearances  of  Christ  to  his  friends.     There 
were  ten  separate  manifestations: 

(a)  He  appeared  to  the  women  who  visited  the  sep- 
ulchre early  in  the   morning.     These  visitors  were  the 
two  Marys,  Salome  and  Joanna.     They  find  the  stone 
rolled  away  and  Jesus  no  longer  in  the  sepulchre.     Ma- 
ry Magdalene,  believing  the  body  had  been  removed 
by  men,  goes  back  in  haste  to  inform  Peter  and  John. 
The  other  women  go  into  the  sepulchre.     Two  angels 
in  bright  apparel  inform  them  that  Christ  is  risen  and 
will  go  before  the   disciples  into    Galilee.     They   now 
hasten  away  to  make  known  the  news  to  the  disciples. 
As  they  go  "Jesus   met  them,  saying,  all  hail.     And 
they  came  and  held  him  by  the  feet  and  worshiped  him. 
Then  said  Jesus  unto  them,  Be  not  afraid;  go  tell  my 
brethren   that   they  go  into    Galilee,   and   there  shall 
they  see  me." 

(b)  To    Mary    Magdalene.      The    eleven    disciples 
did    not    believe    the    report   of  the    women.       Peter 
and    John    ran   to    the    sepulchre   and   returned  won- 
dering.      Mary  Magdalene  remained  weeping  at  the 
tomb.     As  she  turns  away  Jesus  met  her.     When  he 
calls  her  by  name  she  recognizes  him,   and  he  says: 
"Touch  me  not,  for  I   am   not  yet  ascended  to  my 
Father;  but  go  to  my  brethren  and  say  unto  them, 
I  ascend  to  my  Father  and  your  Father,   and  to  my 
God  and  your  God."     Our  Lord's  prohibition   seems 


256  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

to  mean,  "Death  has  now  set  a  gulf  between  us. 
Touch  not,  as  you  once  might  have  done,  this  body, 
which  is  now  glorified  by  its  conquest  over  death,  for 
with  this  body  I  ascend  to  the  Father." 

(c)  To  Peter.  "He  was  seen  of  Cephas." 

(d)  To  the  two  disciples  on  their  way  to  Emmaus, 
whose  hearts  burned  within  them  as  he  opened  to  them 
the  Scriptures,  and  to  whom  he  was  made  known  in 
the  breaking  of  bread. 

(e)  To  the  eleven  as  they  sat  at  meat.    "Jesus  himself 
stood  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  saith  unto  them,  Peace  be 
unto  you."    They  were  afraid  and  thought  they  saw  a 
spirit.    He  said:  "Behold  my  hands  and  my  feet,  that  it 
is  I  myself:  handle  me,  and  see;  for  a  spirit  hath  not 
flesh  and  bones,  as  ye  see  me  have. "    He  showed  them 
his  hands  and  feet,  he  ate  a  piece  of  broiled  fish  and  a 
honeycomb.     And  he  reminded  them  "that  all  things 
must  be    fulfilled,  which  were   written   in  the  law  of 
Moses,  and  in  the  prophets,  and  in  the  psalms,"  con- 
cerning him.     "And  thus  it  behooved  Christ  to  suffer 
and  to  rise  from  the    dead  the  third    day."     "Then 
opened  he  their  understanding,  that  they  might  under- 
stand the  Scriptures. " 

(/)  To  all  the  apostles  seven  days  later.  Doubting 
Thomas  was  among  them.  How  did  our  Lord  deal 
with  his  skepticism?  By  a  direct  appeal  to  the  over- 
whelming evidence  presented  to  the  senses.  "Reach 
hither  thy  finger  and  behold  my  hands,  and  reach 
hither  thy  hand  and  thrust  it  into  my  side;  and  be  not 
faithless,  but  believing."  Thomas  answered,  "My 
Lord  and  my  God."  And  yet  there  is  a  higher 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  257 

evidence,  inward  recognition  by  the  Spirit.  "Blessed 
are  they  that  have  not  seen,  and  yet  have  believed." 

(g)  To  seven  of  the  apostles  in  Galilee.  Jesus  stood 
on  the  shores  of  the  sea  of  Tiberias.  The  miraculous 
draught  of  fishes  revealed  him.  "It  is  the  Lord." 
After  they  had  dined,  he  tested  Peter's  humility  and 
loyalty.  Jesus  said,  " Simon,  lovestthou  me  (agapas)?" 
Peter  answered,  "Thou  knowest  that  I  love  thee 
(phileo)."  Jesus. said  a  second  time,  "Do  you  love  me 
with  all  your  heart  (agapas)?"  Peter  answered,  "Thou 
knowest  that  I  esteem  thee  (phileo)."  Jesus  said  the 
third  time,  "Peter,  do  you  esteem  me  (phileo)?" 
Peter  was  grieved  because  he  said  the  third  time  "Do 
you  esteem  me  (phileo)?"  So  he  was  humbled  and 
won. 

(ti)  To  the  eleven  and  probably  to  five  hundred 
brethren  assembled  with  them  on  a  mountain  in 
Galilee. 

(i)   To  James.     I.  Cor.  xv.  7. 

(j)  To  the  apostles  at  Jerusalem  just  before  the 
ascension.  To  these  we  should  add  his  appearance  to 
Saul  before  Damascus,  "Why  persecutest  thou  me?" 
and  to  John  on  Patmos,  "I  am  he  that  liveth  and  was 
dead,  and  behold  I  am  alive  again  forevermore. " 

Here  we  have  a  great  cloud  of  witnesses.  There 
are  only  three  ways  of  disposing  of  them: 

(a)  That  they  were  deceivers.  But  this  cannot  be. 
"If  fraud  had  existed,  it  must  have  been  detected. 
There  was  no  want  of  power,  or  disposition,  or  oppor- 
tunity, to  detect  it.  Besides,  the  character  of  the 
apostles,  their  previous  views  and  conduct,  their  per- 


258  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

sonal  toils,  hazards  and  sufferings,  in  a  cause  which,  is 
not  the  cause  of  truth,  could  do  nothing  for  them; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  entail  ruin  on  them  in  both 
worlds;  their  making  the  propagation  of  this  fact,  and 
of  others  connected  with  it,  their  great  business  through 
life,  and  then  cheerfully  sealing  their  testimony  by 
their  blood,  all  these  make  it  as  certain  as  anything  of 
the  kind  can  be,  that  there  was  no  imposture  in  the 
case." — Dr.  Brown,  on  I  Peter. 

(b)  That  they  were  deceived.     There  is  no  ground 
for  this.     They  were  too  intimately  acquainted  with 
him   before  his  passion,  and  saw  him  too  frequently 
after  his  resurrection  to  be  under  the  influence  of  blind 
enthusiasam.      "It  was  not  one  person,  but  many  that 
saw    him;    they    saw  him    not    only    separately,    but 
together;   not  only   at  night,    but   by   day;   not   at   a 
distance,  but  near;  not  once,  but  several  times.     They 
not  only  saw  him,  but  touched  him,  conversed  with 
him,  ate  with  him  and  examined  his  person  to  satisfy 
their  doubts" — Paley. 

(c)  That  they  are  creditable  witnesses.     This  is  the 
only    feasible   disposition  that  can  be  made  of  these 
witnesses.     Their  testimony  is  unimpeachable.     How 
true  are  the  words  of  Luke,  "that  to  the  apostles  he 
had  chosen  he  showed  himself  alive  after  his  passion, 
by  many  infallible  proofs." 

3.  It  is  the  key  to  the  history  of  redemption.  It 
explains  all  that  preceded  and  all  that  followed.  It 
crowned  the  life  and  death  of  Christ,  and  it  furnished 
a  foundation  for  his  kingdom.  It  is  the  connecting 
link  between  the  old  and  the  new  eras.  It  is  the  key- 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  259 

stone  in  the  arch  of  Christian  evidence.  "On  the 
supposition  that  it  did  not  take  place,  the  history  oi 
the  life  and  death  of  Jesus,  and  the  history  of  his 
religion,  are  alike  riddles  and  mysteries,  involved  in 
inextricable  difficulties.  No  human  ingenuity  can  in 
this  case  reconcile  the  authenticated  facts  with  the 
ordinary  principles  of  human  nature,  and  the  estab- 
lished laws  of  the  moral  world" — Dr.  Brown  s  Dis. 

Now,  this  well-authenticated  historic  fact  of  the 
resurrection  of  Christ  is  the  testimony  of  God  to  his 
Messiahship.  "  If  thou  confess  with  thy  mouth  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  shall  believe  in  thy  heart  that  God  hath 
risen  from  the  dead,  thou  shalt  be  saved."  His  resur- 
rection was  predicted  in  the  sixteenth  Psalm,  and  in 
the  sign  of  Jonah  the  prophet,  and  he  was  "raised  the 
third  day,  according  to  the  Scriptures."  He  declared 
that  he  would  rise  again  the  third  day,  and  in 
raising  him  up  God  vindicated  his  claim.  He 
declared  himself  to  be  the  Son  of  God.  The 
Jews  charged  him  with  blasphemy  and  put  him  to 
death.  But  God  judged  between  him  and  them.  In 
raising  him  up  from  the  dead  he  declared  that  Christ 
was  the  Son  of  God  and  the  Jews  were  murderers. 
"He  is  declared  with  emphasis  to  be  the  son  of  God 
by  the  resurrection  from  the  dead. "  The  fact  that 
God  had  preserved  Jonah  in  the  fish's  belly  for  three 
days  was  the  convincing  proof  to  the  Ninevites  that 
God  had  sent  him  to  them.  And  so  God  "hath  given 
assurance  unto  all  men"  of  the  Messiahship  of  Christ, 
"in  that  he  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead." 

II.  As  a  doctrine,  it  is  the  pledge  and  assurance  to 


260  RE  FORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

us  that  God  has  accepted  of  his  penal,  vicariotis  and 
expiatory  suffering.  The  sufferings  of  Christ,  in  their 
nature,  variety  and  continuance,  were  most  extraordi- 
nary. We  see  them  in  the  weeping  infant,  the  pensive 
youth,  the  man  of  sorrows,  and  the  bleeding  victim  of 
Calvary.  He  suffered  from  hunger  and  thirst,  re- 
proach and  disappointment,  persecution,  scourging  and 
crucifixion.  He  suffered  from  friend  and  foe,  country- 
men and  foreigners,  rulers  and  people,  men  and  devils, 
the  creature  and  the  Creator.  His  sufferings  began  in 
the  manger  at  Bethlehem,  and  ended  at  Golgotha. 
The  shadow  of  the  cross  fell  on  his  cradle,  and  it  grew 
darker  and  heavier  until  in  the  garden  his  sweat  was, 
as  it  were,  great  drops  of  blood  falling  down  to  the 
ground,  and  on  the  cross  he  cried:  "My  God!  My 
God!  Why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?"  He  dipped  his 
foot  in  the  stream  of  sorrow  as  soon  as  he  was  born, 
and  the  waves  rolled  up  until  the  waters  came  into  his 
soul,  and  all  God's  billows  passed  over  him.  The  vic- 
tim was  laid  upon  the  altar  at  his  birth,  and  the  flames 
of  justice  continued  to  burn  until  his  heart  was  melted 
like  wax  in  the  midst  of  his  bowels.  His  tongue 
cleaved  to  his  jaws,  his  soul  had  been  made  an  offering 
for  sin,  and  he  was  brought  to  the  dust  of  death.  (See 
Symington  on  Atonement,  Sec.  7.) 

These  sufferings  have  a  distinct  and  clearly-defined 
character.  They  are:  I.  Penal.  He  was  condemned 
for  blasphemy.  That  was  a  capital  offense.  He  was 
executed  as  a  criminal.  The  Mosaic  law  required  the 
bodies  of  criminals  who  had  been  executed  to  be  pub- 
licly exposed  upon  the  gibbet.  "Cursed  is  every  one 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  261 

that  hangeth  on  a  tree."  That  was  a  public  declara- 
tion that  their  life  had  been  paid  as  a  forfeit  to  justice. 
The  discerning  eye  sees  another  inscription  besides 
Pilate's  on  the  cross,  and  it  reads:  "The  victim  of 
guilt.  The  wages  of  sin." 

2.  Vicarious.  Christ  is  the  vicar  or  substitute  of 
his  people.  His  sufferings  were  a  substitutionary  sat- 
isfaction to  the  law  and  justice  of  God.  When  it  is 
said  that  "Christ  our  passover  has  been  sacrificed  for 
us,"  that  "He  made  his  soul  a  sacrifice  for  sin,"  that 
"He  is  a  propitiation" — a  propitiatory  sacrifice — "in 
his  blood,"  that  "He  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of 
himself,"  and  that  he  has  "been  offered  to  bear  the  sins 
of  many,"  we  can  not  help  concluding  that  he  stood 
in  our  place  and  bore  the  penal  consequences  of  our 
sins.  The  Jews  esteemed  "Christ  stricken,  smitten  of 
God,  and  afflicted" — they  reckoned  him  a  person  pun- 
ished signally  for  his  own  enormous,  though  unknown, 
crimes.  But  they  were  egregiously  mistaken.  The 
fact  is,  "He  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions,  he  was 
bruised  for  our  iniquities;  the  chastisement  of  our 
peace  was  on  him.  The  Lord  made  to  fall  on  him  the 
iniquity  of  us  all.  Exaction  was  made,  and  he  became 
answerable.  My  righteous  servant,  by  his  knowledge, 
shall  justify  many,  for  he  shall  bear  their  iniquities. 
Numbered  with  the  transgressors,  he  bore  the  sins  of 
many."  (See  Dr.  Brown's  lecture  on  Isa.  53,  "The 
Sufferings  and  Glories  of  the  Messiah.  ")  "Christ  died 
for  the  ungodly."  "Christ  bore  our  sins  in  his  own 
body  on  the  tree. "  Language  could  not  more  plainly 
assert  the  doctrine  of  substitution. 


262  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

3.  Expiatory.  His  sufferings  made  the  pardon  of 
sin  and  the  restoration  of  the  sinner  consistent  with 
and  gloriously  illustrative  of  "the  perfections  of  the 
divine  character,  the  honor  of  the  divine  law,  and  the 
stability  of  the  divine  government."  This  was  their 
design.  Daniel  says,  "The  Messiah  was  cut  off,  but  not 
for  himself."  But  "to  finish  transgression,  to  make  an 
end  of  sin,  to  make  reconciliation  for  iniquity,  to  bring 
in  everlasting  righteousness."  John  the  Baptist  said, 
"Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away  the  sins 
of  the  world.  "  Christ  said  that  he  came  "to  give  him- 
self a  ransom  for  many.  "  The  apostle  tells  us  that  "he 
came  to  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself,"  that 
"God  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us,  that  we  might  be 
made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him."  This  they 
have  effected.  "The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  God's  Son, 
cleanseth  us  from  all  sin."  "In  him  we  have  redemp- 
tion through  his  blood,  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  "  "He 
is  set  forth  as  a  propitiation  for  our  sins,  through  faith 
in  his  blood." 

But  how  do  we  know  that  the  penal,  vicarious,  and 
expiatory  sufferings  of  Christ  have  been  accepted  of 
God  for  us?  I  answer,  By  the  resurrection.  "If  Christ 
be  not  risen,  then  is  our  preaching  vain,  and  your 
faith  is  also  vain."  "If  Christ  be  not  raised  your 
faith  is  vain;  ye  are  yet  in  your  sins."  But  he  "who 
was  given  for  our  offences  has  been  raised  again  for 
our  justification."  The  Savior  cried  upon  the  cross, 
"It  is  finished,"  and  from  the  empty  tomb  the  ear  of 
faith  hears  the  echo,  "It  is  finished."  "The  God  of 
peace,"  who  was  angry  at  sin,  but  whose  anger  has 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  263 

been  turned  away,  "has  brought  again  from  the  dead 
our  Lord  Jesus,  that  great  Shepherd  of  the  sheep, 
through  the  blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant.''  Be- 
cause the  blood  of  Christ  has  been  shed  and  the  ever- 
lasting covenant  ratified  by  it,  "God  hath  raised  him 
up  from  the  dead,  and  given  him  glory,  that  our  faith 
and  hope  might  be  in  God."  Because  Christ  has  been 
raised,  we  know  that  God  is  well  pleased  with  him  for 
his  righteousness  sake,  and  well  pleased  with  us  in  him. 
"It  is  Christ  that  has  died;  yea  rather,  that  is  risen 
again."  "Who  shall  lay  anything  to  the  charge  of 
God's  elect?''  "There  is  therefore  now  no  condemna- 
tion to  them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus."  Just  as  David 
knew  that  his  sacrifice  on  Mt.  Moriah,  and  Elijah  that 
his  sacrifice  on  Mt.  Carmel,  were  accepted  because  the 
fire  from  heaven  came  down  and  consumed  them,  so 
the  believer  knows  that  God  has  accepted  of  the  sacri- 
fice of  Christ  because  he  raised  him  from  the  dead  and 
exalted  him  to  his  own  right  hand. 

III.  As  a  life  it  secures  for  us:  i.  That  spiritual  re- 
newal of  which  it  is  the  image  and  ground.  "Put  to 
death  in  the  flesh,  but  quickened  by  the  spirit."  This 
may  be  rendered,  ''He  became  dead  bodily,  but  was 
quickened  spiritually.''  As  a  consequence  of  his  death 
he  became  spiritually  alive  and  powerful — full  of  life 
to  be  communicated  to  dead  souls,  mighty  to  save.  By 
this  power  he  lives  and  gives  life.  He  became  a 
"quickening  spirit,"  the  receptacle  of  life  and  spiritual 
influence,  "and  of  his  fullness  have  all  we  received  and 
grace  for  grace."  He  has  received  power  to  give  life 
to  as  many  as  the  Father  hath  given  him.  By  this 


264  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

power  he  arose  from  the  dead.  His  resurrection  body 
was  spiritual.  It  is  now  upon  earth  and  now  in  heaven, 
a  moment  visible  and  then  vanishing  out  of  sight. 
Christ's  resurrection  was  passing  through  the  tomb  from 
his  former  natural  life  into  a  new,  higher,  spiritual  life. 
And  thus  it  is  the  image  of  our  spiritual  renovation. 
It  is  also  the  power  producing  our  newness  of  life. 
By  this  power  we  are  raised  from  spiritual  death, 
"Awake  thou  that  sleepest  and  arise  from  the  dead, 
and  Christ  shall  give  thee  life."  "And  you  hath  he 
quickened  who  were  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins." 
"Know  ye  not,  that  so  many  of  us  as  were  baptized 
unto  Jesus  Christ  were  baptized  unto  his  death.  There- 
fore we  are  buried  with  him  by  baptism  into  death: 
that  like  as  Christ  was  raised  up  from  the  dead  by  the 
glory  of  the  Father,  even  so  we  also  should  walk  in 
newness  of  life.  For  if  we  have  been  planted  together 
in  the  likeness  of  his  death,  we  shall  be  also  in  the  like- 
ness of  his  resurrection."  "Now  if  we  be  dead  with 
Christ,  we  believe  we  shall  also  live  with  him,  know- 
ing that  Christ  being  raised  from  the  dead,  dieth  no 
more." 

2.  Resurrection  glory.  Does  death  end  all?  When 
a  man  dieth  shall  he  live  again?  These  have  been  the 
questions  of  the  ages.  The  wisdom  of  the  world  has 
been  unable  to  give  any  satisfactory  answer  to  them. 
It  is  comforting  as  we  stand  at  the  newly-made  grave 
of  a  departed  companion  in  Christ  to  read,  "If  the 
Spirit  of  him  that  raised  up  Jesus  from  the  dead  dwell 
in  you,  he  that  raised  up  Christ  from  the  dead  shall  al- 
so quicken  your  mortal  bodies,  by  his  spirit  that  dwell- 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  265 

eth  in  you."  "Because  he  lives  we  shall  live  also." 
"He  shall  change  our  vile  bodies  and  fashion  them  like 
unto  his  own  glorious  body."  "When  Christ  who  is 
our  life  shall  appear,  we  shall  appear  with  him  in  glory." 
"Now  is  Christ  risen  and  become  the  first  fruits  of  them 
that  slept. *'  "Christ  the  first-fruits  and  afterward  they 
that  are  Christ's  at  his  coming.''  "And  the  dead  in 
Christ  shall  rise  first,  unto  the  resurrection  of  life.'' 

3.  The  triumph  of  his  mediatorial  kingdom.  In  the 
eighteenth  Psalm,  Christ  is  represented  as  being  over- 
whelmed with  the  floods  of  Belial,  bound  with  the 
cords  of  the  separate  state,  and  entangled  in  the  snares 
of  death.  Then  the  Father  looks  down  from  the  ex- 
cellent glory  upon  him  with  pity  and  upon  his  enemies 
with  derision.  He  enters  his  chariot  and  comes  down. 
The  earth  quakes  from  center  to  circumference  at  his 
touch.  The  thunders  are  his  voice,  the  lightning  the 
smoke  of  his  nostrils.  He  shoots  out  his  arrows  and 
discomfits  his  foes.  He  drew  the  Messiah  out  of  many 
waters  and  set  him  at  liberty,  because  he  delighted  in 
him.  He  makes  the  sea  dry  land  and  the  dry  land  sea. 
There  is  a  great  revolution.  Now  all  this  was  partially- 
fulfilled  in  the  rending  of  the  rocks,  the  preternatural 
darkness  and  the  earthquake  that  attended  the  death  and 
resurrection  of  our  Lord.  But  its  ultimate  fulfillment  is 
in  the  triumph  of  the  Redeemer's  cause.  (See  Dr. 
Brown's  4th  lecture  on  the  i8th  Psalm,  "The  Sufferings 
and  Glories  of  the  Messiah.'')  It  was  fulfilled  in  the  de- 
struction of  his  Jewish  enemies  and  the  deliverance  of 
his  people  from  their  persecutions.  In  the  siege  ot 
Jerusalem  Josephus  speaks  of  "a  prodigious  tempest 


266  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

and  fierce  winds,  with  the  most  vehement  rains,  fre- 
quent lightnings,  and  terrible  thunderings,  and  great 
roarings  of  the  shaken  earth.''  "Before  the  sun  set  were 
seen  on  high,  in  the  air,  all  over  the  country,  chariots 
and  armed  regiments  moving  swiftly  in  the  clouds,  and 
encompassing  the  city."  These  were  the  arrows,  the 
fire,  the  smoke  with  which  Jehovah  scattered  his  ene- 
mies and  delivered  his  people.  It  was  fulfilled  in 
the  fall  of  the  Pagan  Roman  empire.  The  Goth,  the 
Vandal,  and  the  Hun,  the  "barbarian  hordes''  from 
the  north  swept  down  upon  her,  "And  lo,  there  was  a 
great  earthquake;  and  the  sun  became  black  as  sackcloth 
of  hair,  and  the  moon  became  as  blood;  and  the  stars 
of  heaven  fell  unto  the  earth;  and  every  mountain  and 
island  were  moved  out  of  their  places.  And  the  kings 
of  the  earth,  and  the  great  men,  and  the  rich  men,  and 
the  chief  captains,  and  the  mighty  men,  and  every 
bond  man,  and  every  free  man,  hid  themselves  in  the 
dens,  and  in  the  rocks  of  the  mountains;  and  said  to 
the  mountains  and  rocks,  Fall  on  us  and  hide  us 
from  the  face  of  him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne,  and  from 
the  wrath  of  the  Lamb:  for  the  great  day  of  his  wrath 
is  come;  and  who  shall  be  able  to  stand?"  It  will  soon 
be  fulfilled  in  the  destruction  of  Anti-Christ  and  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  millennial  reign.  The  pouring  out  of 
the  seventh  vial  brings  an  unprecedented  hail-storm 
from  above  and  a  terrible  earthquake  from  beneath, 
swallowing  up  the  allied  forces  of  the  beast,  the  false 
prophet,  and  the  dragon  on  the  field  of  Armageddon, 
and  preparing  the  world  for  the  announcement,  <kThe 
kingdoms  of  the  world  have  become  the  kingdoms  of 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  267 

our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ,  and  he  shall  reign  forever 
and  ever."  It  will  be  ultimately  fulfilled  in  the  con- 
summation of  all  things,  when  death  and  hell  shall  be 
cast  into  the  lake  of  fire  which  burneth  with  brimstone 
forever  and  ever,  and  the  whole  company  of  the  re- 
deemed shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  prepared  for  them 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world.  This  is  the  fruition 
of  the  resurrection  life. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


RELATION  OF  CHURCH  AND  STATE. 

This  has  been  the  vexed  question  of  all  ages.  The 
papacy  thought  it  was  settled  when  the  Church  became 
the  supreme  ruler  of  the  State  in  Pope  Stephen's 
exaltation  in  756.  The  prelatic  party  in  England  sup- 
posed it  fixed  when  King  Henry  VIII.  made  the  State 
the  soul  arbiter  of  the  Church,  in  1534.  The  conven- 
tion that  framed  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
imagined  it  was^iisposed  of  in  1787  when  they  embod- 
ied the  secular  theory  of  government  in  the  fundamen- 
tal law  of  this  land.  But  the  problem  is  not  yet 
solved.  Neither  the  enthronement  of  the  Church  by 
Constantine  in  323,  nor  her  divorcement  by  America 
in  1787,  correspond  to  the  scriptural  model,  or  peace- 
fully adjust  their  intimate  and  delicate  relations. 

I.  According  to  the  Scriptures,  Church  and  State 
are  mutually  separate  and  independent  divine  institu- 
tions. They  exist  by  the  decree  of  God,  and  are 
answerable  to  him.  This  divine  ordination  establishes 
the  Church's  independence.  "I  will  give  unto  thee 
the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  whatsoever 
thou  shalt  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven,  and 
whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed 
in  heaven."  And  the  freedom  of  the  State  is  determined 
by  the  declaration,  "The  powers  that  be  are  ordained 
of  God;  rulers  are  God's  ministers  to  thee  for  good." 


RELATION  OF  CHURCH  AND  STA  TE.  269 

* 

From  the  beginning,  Church  and  State  were  separate. 
It  was  so  in  the  Jewish  economy.  The  Jewish  Church 
was  not  the  State,  nor  was  the  State  the  Church.  Each 
had  its  distinct  rulers,  courts,  laws,  subjects,  penal- 
ties, and  duration.  Moses,  Joshua,  David,  Solomon, 
Hezekiah,  and  Zerubbabel  represented  the  State; 
Aaron,  Eleazar,  Abiather,  Zadok,  Azariah,  and 
Joshua  represented  the  Church.  "These  are  the  two 
anointed  ones,  that  stand  by  the  Lord  of  the  whole 
earth.''  The  Church  had  the  synagogue  and  the 
ecclesiastical  sanhedrim;  the  State,  the  court  of  the 
gate  and  the  civil  sanhedrim.  Ceremonial  laws  be- 
longed to  the  Church,  judicial  laws  to  the  State.  Pros- 
elytes were  always  members  of  the  Church,  but  not 
always  of  the  State;  and  scandalous  offenders  against 
the  ceremonial  law  were  debarred  from  the  fellowship 
of  the  Church,  while  permitted  to  enjoy  their  civil 
rights.  The  penalties  of  the  Church  were  purely 
ecclesiastical,  as  casting  out  of  the  synagogue;  those 
of  the  State  extended  to  fine,  and  even  to  death.  The 
Jewish  State  ended  when  it  became  a  Roman  province; 
the  Church  continued  until  the  destruction  of  the 
temple  by  Titus  and  the  scattering  abroad  of  the  Jewish 
people.  "The  co-ordinate  jurisdiction  of  Church  and 
State  are  mutually  distinct  and  independent.  The 
Church  has  no  formal  jurisdiction  over  the  State  as 
such,  and  the  State  has  no  formal  jurisdiction  over  the 
Church.  The  ministers  and  members  of  the  Church 
are  subject  to  the  State  in  things  civi',  and  the  ministers 
and  members  of  the  State,  if  members  of  the  Church, 
are  subject  to  the  spiritual  courts  in  things  spiritual. 


270  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

The  ministers  of  religion  are  more  immediately  the 
guardians  of  faith  and  judges  of  doctrine;  the  minis- 
ters of  the  State  are  more  immediately  the  guardians 
of  law  and  judges  of  its  violation.  It  does  not  belong 
to  the  State  to  prescribe  the  terms  of  the  Church's 
ministerial  or  Christian  communion,  to  appoint  her 
officers,  to  convene  her  courts,  to  dictate  her  con- 
stitution, or  administration  in  her  doctrine,  worship, 
discipline,  or  government,  or  exercise  an  appellate 
jurisdiction  over  her  censures.  As  little  does  it  belong 
to  the  Church  to  appoint  the  rulers  of  the  State,  con- 
vene its  courts,  enact  its  laws,  and  execute  their 
sanctions  by  assuming  the  sword.  The  jurisdictions 
of  both  are  final.  Church  and  State  are  each  of 
them  supreme  in  their  own  sphere — the  Church  in  things 
spiritual,  and  the  State  in  things  temporal.  The 
Church  gives  effect  to  her  own  laws,  ecclesiastically; 
the  State  to  its  civilly.  The  latter  is  relatively  free 
to  sanction,  and  give  effect  or  not,  to  ecclesiastical 
decisions;  and  the  former  is  free  to  approve  or  not  of 
civil  enactments,  and  give  them  effect,  ecclesiastically, 
as  in  the  case  of  national  fasts  and  thanksgivings.'' 
— Lectures  on  Second  Reformation. 

The  State  deals  with  external  conduct.  Its  prov- 
ince is  to  prevent  the  violation  of  law  and  to 
encourage  obedience.  "Rulers  are  a  terror  to  evil- 
doers, and  a  praise  to  them  that  do  well." 
The  Church's  sphere  is  the  conscience  and  the 
heart.  She  deals  with  matters  of  faith.  The  moral 
law  'is  both  a  civil  and  an  ecclesiastical  code.  In  the 
former  sense  the  State  is  its  keeper;  in  the  latter,  the 


RELATION  OF  CHURCH  AND  STATE.  271 

Church.  It  is  the  State's  duty  to  suppress  open 
idolatry,  as  Asa  did  in  Judah;  it  is  the  Church's  priv- 
ilege to  enforce  the  worship  of  the  true  God.  It 
belongs  to  the  State  to  prohibit  all  public  Sabbath- 
desecration;  it  is  obligatory  upon  the  Church  to 
consecrate  the  day  to  God.  The  State  must  crush 
polygamy  and  banish  speedy  and  easy  divorce.  The 
Church  teaches  husbands  to  love  their  wives,  and  wives 
to  obey  their  husbands.  The  State  punishes  the  ex- 
ternal act  of  covetoiisness;  the  Church  strikes  it  down 
in  the  heart.  The  Church  and  State  are  mutually 
separate  and  independent  kingdoms,  each  subject  in 
its  sphere  to  the  mediatorial  throne. 

In  the  Homiletic  Review  for  December,  1887,  there 
is  an  article  on  "The  Connection  between  Church  and 
State,"  by  Prof.  Philip  Schaff,  D.D.,  LL.D.  Three 
connecting  links  are  mentioned,  Monogamy  in  Marriage, 
the  Weekly  Day  of  Rest,  and  Public  Schools. 

1.  Marriage  is  a  civil  contract  and  a  religious  bond, 
recognized  by  both  Church  and  State  in  this  land. 

2.  The  Sabbath  is  both  a  civil  and  religious  institu- 
tion.    In  the  second  sense  it  belongs  to  the  Church. 
The  Church  tells  us  how  we  are  to  keep  the  Sabbath. 
But  in  the  first  sense  it  belongs  to  the  State.     The  State 
must  prohibit  public  Sabbath  desecration.     Says  Dr. 
Schaff:  "Sabbath  laws  are  not  positive  and  coercive, 
but  negative,  defensive  and  protective.     The  State  has 
no  right  to  command  the  religious  observance  of  the 
Sabbath,  and    to    punish   anybody  for  not   going   to 
church,   as  was   done  in  some  countries   of  Europe. 
But  the  State  is  in  duty  bound  to  protect  the  religious 


272  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

community  in  their  right  to  enjoy  the  rest  of  that  day, 
and  should  forbid  such  public  desecration  as  interferes 
with  this  right."  The  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States  is  adduced  in  evidence. 

3.  The  public  schools  are  the  creature  of  the 
State.  But  the  State  cannot  educate  without  teaching 
morality  and  religion.  The  Bible  in  the  public  schools 
is  the  tie  between  the  Church  and  State  here.  Many 
are  willing  to  let  the  Bible  go  out  at  the  dictation  of 
its  enemies.  "But,"  says  the  Dr.,  uit  is  better  to  hold 
to  the  time-honored  custom  of  holding  up  before  the 
rising  generation,  day  by  day,  a  short  and  suitable 
lesson  from  the  Book  of  books;  some  of  the  Psalms 
are  at  the  same  time  the  sublimest  lyrical  poetry;  the 
Lord's  prayer  the  best  of  all  prayers;  the  sermon  on 
the  mount  is  more  popular  and  beautiful  than  any 
moral  essay;  and  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  I  Corinthans 
is  the  most  effective  sermon  on  charity.''  He  would 
have  a  competent  and  judicious  committee  select  the 
passages  most  suitable  to  be  read,  as  Dr.  Morris,  of 
Lane  Theological  Seminary,  has  done.  The  State  may 
not  teach  the  Church's  creeds,  but  the  Church  might, 
he  thinks,  very  properly  occupy  the  school  buildings 
certain  hours  for  that  purpose.  The  State  may  teach 
a  few  branches  without  touching  upon  religion,  but  in 
history  and  moral  science  it  is  impossible.  "The 
difficulty  begins  in  history  and  the  moral  sciences 
which  deal  with  character,  touch  upon  religious 
grounds,  and  enjoin  the  eternal  principles  of  duty.  A 
history  which  would  ignore  God,  Christ,  the  Bible,  the 
Church,  the  Reformation,  the  faith  of  the  first  settlers 


RE  LA  TION  OF  CHURCH  AND  STA  TE.  273 

of  this  country,  would  be  nothing  but  a  ghastly 
skeleton  of  dry  bones.  An  education  which  ignores 
the  greatest  characters  and  events  and  the  most  sacred 
interests  in  human  life  must  breed  religious  indifference, 
infidelity  and  immorality.  But  the  people  will  not 
allow  this  as  long  as  they  remain  religious  and 
Christian."  The  family,  the  Sabbath,  and  the  public 
schools  are  the  tripod  upon  which  the  Republic  rests. 
Break  one  leg  and  the  whole  fabric  falls. 

II.  According  to  the  Scriptures,  the  State  and  its 
sphere  exist  for  the  sake  of,  and  to  serve  the  interests 
of,  the  Church.  Not  to  mention  the  fact  that  Christ  is 
"head  over  all  things  to  the  Church,"  it  is  expressly 
asserted,  "Kings  shall  be  thy  nursing  fathers,  and  their 
queens  thy  nursing  mothers;"  "the  nation  and  king- 
dom that  will  not  serve  thee  shall  perish;  yea,  those 
nations  shall  be  utterly  wasted;"  "the  mountain  of  the 
Lord's  house  shall  be  established  in  the  top  of  the 
mountains,  and  shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills;  and 
all  nations  shall  flow  unto  it."  The  general  truth  here 
taught  is  not  far  to  seek.  "Mountains"  and  "hills"  in 
Scripture  signify  the  greater  and  smaller  kingdoms  of 
the  earth.  "The  mountain  of  the  Lord's  house"  means 
the  Church;  and  to  "be  established  in  the  top"  of  the 
one  and  "exalted  above"  the  other  indicate  that  the 
nations  shall  be  the  support  and  defense  of  the  Church. 
Kings  becoming  "nursing  fathers"  and  queens  "nurs- 
ing mothers"  refers  to  the  sustaining  care  which  nations 
shall  exercise  over  the  Church,  and  "serve"  signifies 
the  ministry  of  the  nations  in  providing  for  her  mate- 
rial wants.  The  essential  truth  of  these  prophecies  is, 


274  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

the  true  State  will  have  a  wise  reference  to  the  Church's 
interests  in  all  her  legislative,  executive  and  judicial 
proceedings.  Public  vice  and  crime,  immorality  and 
licentiousness — the  wild  boar  from  the  forest  that  de- 
vours the  garden  of  the  Lord — it  destroys;  and  mor- 
ality, virtue,  good  order — the  handmaids  to  religion — 
it  promotes  and  encourages.  The  expenses  of  the 
Church  in  carrying  on  her  public  aggressive  work  it 
meets  in  whole  or  in  part  out  of  the  public  treasury. 
Thus  the  Church  is  protected  and  exalted  by  the  State. 
David  and  Solomon  made  provision  for  the  building  of 
the  temple,  and  Hiram,  King  of  Tyre,  assisted  them. 
Cyrus,  King  of  Persia,  issued  a  decree  respecting  the 
rebuilding  of  the  temple,  and  it  is  expressly  declared 
that  the  Lord  stirred  up  his  heart  to  do  it.  Darius 
afterward  issued  an  edict  to  the  same  effect.  Another 
royal  enactment  was  made  by  Artaxerxes  to  the  same 
purpose.  And  all  this  was  done  with  divine  approval. 
"Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of  our  fathers,  who  hath 
put  such  a  thing  as  this  in  the  king's  heart,  to  beautify 
the  house  of  the  Lord  which  is  in  Jerusalem."  The 
true  State  will  follow  their  example  in  serving  the  in- 
terests of  the  Church.  "The  Kings  of  Tarshish  and 
of  the  Isles  shall  bring  presents;  the  Kings  of  Sheba 
and  Seba  shall  offer  gifts;"  "he  shall  live,  and  to  him 
shall  be  given  of  the  gold  of  Sheba;"  "the  Gentiles  shall 
come  to  thy  light  and  kings  to  the  brightness  of  thy 
rising;"  "they  shall  bring  gold  and  incense,  and  they 
shall  show  forth  the  praises  of  the  Lord;"  "surely  the 
isles  shall  wait  for  me  and  the  ships  of  Tarshish  first, 
to  bring  thy  sons  from  far,  their  silver  and  their  gold 


RELATION  OF  CHURCH  AND  STATE.  275 

with  them,  unto  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God,  and 
to  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  because  he  hath  glorified 
thee." 

The  Continental  Congress  voted  an  appropriation  to 
import  Bibles.  Our  Congress  every  year  makes  an 
appropriation  to  support  the  Christian  schools  among 
the  Indians.  It  has  been  found  cheaper  to  educate  the 
Indians  and  Christianize  them  than  to  kill  them.  Dr. 
Pearson  said:  "General  Sherman's  campaign  against 
the  Cheyennes  is  reported  to  have  cost  $5,000,000; 
it  costs  $500,000  to  kill  an  Indian,  and  $500  to  con- 
vert one.  Those  who  estimate  every  question  on  a 
financial  basis  may  do  well  to  consider  these  compara- 
tive figures.  History  may  yet  prove  that  there  are 
some  'good  Indians'  who  are  not  'dead  Indians.'" 

III.  According  to  the  Scriptures,  the  Church  and 
the  State  will  exist  in  friendly  recognition  and  co- 
operation. Because  the  State  is  distinct  from  the 
Church  it  does  not  follow  that  it  is  divorced  from  her. 
The  Christian  family  is  a  divine  institution.  It  is  inde- 
pendent of  the  Church,  and  yet  it  exists  in  friendly 
recognition  and  co-operation  with  her.  The  Church 
will  recognize  the  good  offices  of  the  Christian  State, 
and  the  true  State  will  formally  acknowledge  its  obli- 
gation to  "serve"  the  Church.  They  may  swear  the 
same  covenant  bond,  in  which  are  embodied  the  duties 
which  each  in  its  sphere  owes  to  the  King.  The  na- 
tion and  Church  of  Israel  seem  to  have  sworn  the  same 
bond  at  Sinai.  The  Church  of  the  British  Isles  and 
the  three  kingdoms — Scotland,  England  and  Ireland — 
swore  to  the  same  covenant  in  1643,  uThe  Solemn 


276  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

League  and  Covenant."  Rev.  William  Milroy  has  well 
said  in  reference  to  "the  duty  of  the  State,  as  such,  to 
enter  into  alliance  with  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  to 
profess,  adhere  to,  defend  and  maintain  the  true  re- 
ligion:" "Ever  since  Christianity  became  a  power 
.among  the  nations  of  the  world,  the  minds  of  legisla- 
tors have  been  occupied  with  the  difficult  question, 
Can  Church  and  State  enter  into  mutual  alliance  and 
yet  each  prosecute,  untramrrieled,  its  respective  ends, 
and  exercise,  uncontrolled,  its  important  functions? 
Though  the  verdict  of  the  Christian  people  of  the 
United  States,  if  called  to-day  to  answer  this  question, 
would  probably  be  overwhelmingly  in  the  negative, 
yet  we  perceive  the  pitms,  profound  and  sagacious  men 
of  the  second  reformation,  who,  more  than  two  hundred 
years  ago,  solved  the  problem  correctly,  answering  in 
the  affirmative.  Not  only  so,  but  for  a  brief  period  in 
the  land  of  the  covenants  they  presented  to  the  world 
what  has  nowhere  else  been  witnessed — the  solution  in 
practical  operation."  May  our  land  soon  be  thus  in 
covenant  with  God,  and  in  a  state  of  friendly  recogni- 
tion and  co-operation  with  the  Church  of  Christ. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 


THE   RICH   AND    POOR. 

I.  American  Strikes.  Text:  "The  rich  and  poor 
meet  together."  Prov.,  xxii.,  2. 

This  text  seems  to  have  been  intended  to  reconcile 
the  differences  existing  at  the  present  time  between 
the  two  great  classes  of  society  specified.  It  is  offer- 
ed to  us  by  the  Divine  Legislator  as  a  perfect  remedy 
for  strikes.  It  contains  a  truth  that  should  be  echoed 
and  re-echoed  from  every  pulpit  in  this  land.  The 
American  strikes  are  becoming  phenomenal.  They 
are  not  confined  to  one  locality,  but  are  found  in  all 
sections,  from  the  Lakes  to  the  Gulf  and  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  They  are  not  limited  to  any 
particular  industry,  but  extend  to  all.  The  freight- 
handlers,  the  iron  and  steel  men,  the  glass  men,  the 
coal  men,  the  boot  and  shoe  men,  the  cotton  spinners, 
locomotive  engineers,  telegraph  operators,  masons, 
mechanics,  painters,  men  of-  all  trades,  are  striking. 
The  eyes  of  all  the  world  are  on  America,  wondering 
what  is  troubling  the  waters  of  her  society  that  they 
cast  up  so  much  mire  and  dirt.  The  eyes  of  our 
political  philosophers  are  turned  towards  these  facts, 
and  they  contemplate  them  with  mingled  fear  and  dread. 
The  Christian  student  looks  upon  them  and  repeats 
the  words  of  Christ:  "The  earth  and  all  the  inhab- 
itants thereof  are  dissolved;  I  bear  up  the  pillars  of  it.  " 


278  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

It  is  proper  to  ask  what  is  the  cause  of  all  this.  The 
employe  says:  "My  wages  are  so  low  I  can  not  live." 
The  employer  says:  "My  margins  are  so  small  I  can 
not  raise  your  wages. "  It  is  to  be  admitted  that 
these  moneyed  corporations  are  in  many  cases  gigan- 
tic systems  of  oppression,  building  up  colossal  for- 
tunes, cemented  with  the  blood  and  tears  of  the  poor. 
"Woe  unto  him. that  buildeth  his  house  by  unright- 
eousness, and  his  chambers  by  wrong!"  It  is  to  be 
admitted  that  much  of  the  suffering  and  misery  among 
the  poor  is  caused  by  improvidence  and  dissipation. 
They  spend  more  money  on  their  vices  than  on  behalf 
of  their  virtues;  more  for  tobacco  than  for  bread; 
more  for  wine  than  for  home  comforts;  more  for 
amusement  than  for  instruction;  more  for  theatres 
than  for  churches.  It  is  furthermore  to  be  admitted 
that  hundreds  of  unemployed  laborers  who  are  ready 
to  take  the  places  of  those  employed,  together  with 
the  small  margins  of  profits  in  most  industries,  has 
kept  wages  down  to  the  minimum,  while  short  crops 
and  speculation  in  food  products  have  driven  the 
prices  of  the  necessaries  of  life  to  very  high  figures. 
But  there  is  a  difficulty  underneath  all  these  admis- 
sions. 

Hon.  Carrol  D.  Wright  contributes  an  article  to 
the  July  number  of  the  Princeton  Review,  1882,  in 
which  he  proves  from  the  official  reports  of  the  Bureau 
of  Statistics  for  Massachusetts  that  from  1860  to  1878 
wages  and  the  prices  of  living  advanced  in  the  same 
proportion,  but  from  1878  to  1882  wages  have  declin- 
ed, while  the  prices  of  living  have  advanced,  so  that  at 


THE  RICH  AND  POOR.  279 

present  they  stand  as  31.2  to  41.3  per  cent.  This  is 
an  injustice  to  the  laboring  man.  It  is  a  burden  laid 
upon  his  shoulders  which  is  too  heavy  for  him  to 
carry.  What  is  the  cause  of  this  discrepancy  of  ten 
per  cent,  between  wages  and  the  prices  of  living?  It 
is  not  the  fault  of  the  employer,  for  the  most  casual 
investigation  of  the  matter  will  satisfy  the  candid 
inquirer  that  wages  have  all  along  advanced  as  rap- 
idly as  business  interests  would  justify.  As  a  rule  the 
employer  is  the  friend  and  not  the  enemy  of  his 
employes.  And  hence  the  unwisdom  and  injustice 
of  these  strikes.  They  are  an  abnormal  growth  from  an 
evil  root.  They  are  to  business  what  a  revolution  is  to 
the  State.  They  are  an  evil  and  only  evil,  and  that 
continually.  The  strikers  are  making  war  upon  their 
friends  and  not  their  enemies.  A  strike  does  not 
increase  but  diminishes  the  margin  of  the  employer 
out  of  which  their  wages  are  paid.  A  strike  reacts 
with  double  force  upon  the  laborer  and  his  family. 
The  New  York  freight  handlers  yielded  without  an 
increase  of  wages.  They  lost  $100,000  in  wages 
during  the  strike.  A  strike  is  what  Carlyle  calls 
"the  sooty  hell  of  hate  and  savagery."  The  strike  is 
the  weapon  of  force,  and  "who  overcomes  by  force 
hath  overcome  but  half  his  foe."  "If  the  men  who 
willingly  lose  one,  two,  three  or  six  months'  time  in  a 
strike,  would  continue  to  work,  and  set  apart  the 
money  thus  spent,  it  would  be  bread  in  their  childrens' 
mouths;  opposition  to  their  interests  would  not  be 
awakened,  and  there  would  be  a  brighter  prospect  of 
their  reaching  the  end  desired." — North  American 
Review,  August,  1882. 


280  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

The  difficulty  here  is  this:  The  cost  of  living  has 
advanced  too  rapidly;  its  advance  is  altogether  un- 
reasonable; and  that  is  controlled  by  forces  outside 
and  beyond  the  reach  of  the  employer — it  is  manip- 
ulated by  our  stock  gamblers.  These  speculators  keep 
the  food  of  our  table  up  at  fictitious  prices,  and  the 
burden  of  their  folly  falls  upon  the  poor  laboring  man. 
That  is  the  tap  root  of  this  evil,  and  until  the  Govern- 
ment lifts  the  axe  of  the  law,  and  cuts  it  off,  its  sour 
fruit  will  be  the  laboring  man's  portion.  It  is  the  dry 
rot  on  our  industries;  and  so  long  as  it  is  suffered  to 
remain,  the  social  convulsions  must  recur.  Why 
should  such  a  short  man  as  Jay  Gould  be  permitted  to 
"load"  himself  with  "stock"  and  call  himself  "long?" 
Why  should  such  a  tall  man  as  Vanderbilt  be  permitted 
to  "unload"  his  "stock"  and  call  himself  "short?"  Why 
should  a  man  who  calls  himself  a  "bear"  be  allowed  to 
enter  the  market  and  sell  "stock"  which  does  not 
exist?  Why  should  another,  who  calls  himself  a 
"bull"  be  allowed  to  enter  the  same  market  and  buy 
"stock"  which  never  had  and  never  can  have  an 
existence?  Why  should  the  "bear"  be  permitted  to 
decry  the  "stock,"  that  he  may  get  the  difference 
between  the  ruling  and  the  stipulated  price  at  the 
time  appointed?  And  why  should  the  ubull"  be  per- 
mitted to  bring  a  pressure  to  bear  upon  the  market 
that  will  enchance  the  price,  that  he  may  have  the 
margin? 

It  is  simply  a  wager.  It  is  gambling  on  a  large 
scale,  and  the  fruits  of  their  folly  the  laboring  man 
must  eat  at  his  own  table.  Why  should  a  moneyed 


7 HE  RICH  AND  POOR.  281 

man  be  allowed  to  enter  the  Chicago  market  and  buy 
up  all  the  wheat  at  seventy-five  cents  per  bushel;  then, 
under  the  pressure  of  scarcity,  force  the  price  up  to 
one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  bushel,  when  he  will 
flood  the  market  and  reap  a  fortune?  That  is  ' 'en- 
grossing commodities  to  enhance  the  price. "  They 
call  it  making  a  ' 'corner,"  but  it  is  to  be  justified  with 
no  such  a  glittering  gewgaw.  It  is  robbery  on  a  large 
scale,  and  what  is  worse,  it  is  robbing  the  poor  man. 
The  laboring  man  gets  no  more  wages  after  this  oper- 
ation than  he  did  before,  but  his  flour  costs  twice  as 
much. 

The  laboring  man  suffers,  and  thinking  it  is  his 
employer's  fault,  strikes.  But  he  mistakes  an  imagi- 
nary cause  for  a  real  one.  I  may  be  allowed  to  relate 
an  incident  in  my  own  experience.  The  hands  on  my 
father's  lime  works  in  Cedarville  struck  in  1864.  I 
asked  the  foreman:  "Do  you  not  think  you  are  strik- 
ing at  the  wrong  party?  these  works  will  not  justify 
higher  wages.  Only  six  cars  are  sent  out  per  week,, 
that  brings  $300;  the  cost  of  the  wood  burned,  the 
hands,  teams  and  tools,  amounts  to  $225;  that  only 
leaves  $75  for  my  father's  time  and  money  invested. 
That  is  not  too  much,  is  it?"  "No,''  he  replied,  "it  is 
not  enough  for  him.  But  our  wages  hardly  keep  us 
and  our  families.''  "That,"  I  replied,  "is  the  fault  of 
our  depreciated  currency.  It  takes  two  dollars  and 
a  half  to  make  one  in  gold.  My  father  can  not  help 
that."  "That  is  so,"  he  answered.  "I  will  do  all  that 
I  can  to  get  the  men  to  go  back.''  This  is  not  except- 
ional. Instead  of  inflated  currency  we  have  inflated 
prices  for  food. 


282  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

If  a  poor  man  steals  $50  from  the  rich,  the  Govern- 
ment sends  him  to  the  penitentiary,  but  if  a  rich  man 
steals  $5,000,000  from  the  poor,  under  the  guise  of 
"options,"  he  is  pronounced  a  shrewd  man  of  affairs. 
It  has  been  authoritatively  stated  that  while  600,- 
000,000  bushels  of  real  wheat  has  been  sold  in  New 
York  in  the  last  three  years,  1,154,000,000  bushels 
have  been  sold  in  ' 'options,"  more  than  the  three  last 
annual  crops  of  the  United  States.  This  is  an  evil  to 
be  punished  by  the  judges.  Rufus  Hatch,  who  has 
spent  his  life  in  Wall  street,  said  in  a  late  interview: 
' 'Dealing  in  options  is  a  crime.  The  whole  company 
of  us  stock  gamblers  should  be  sent  to  the  peniten- 
tiary." Stock  gambling  is  a  sore  evil  under  the  sun, 
and  so  long  as  the  Government  remains  derelict  in  its 
duty  here,  this  evil  must  remain  upon  the  laboring 
man's  shoulders. 

But  in  the  mean  time  it  is  asked,  "Can  the  relations 
of  employer  and  employed  not  be  amicably  adjusted?" 
We  answer  there  are  three  possible  ways  of  solving 
that  difficulty. 

I .  By  drafting  a  code  of  laws  ivhich  will  regulate 
and  harmonize  every  relation  of  each  to  the  other. 
Political  economists  have  attempted  this,  and  with 
some  measure  of  success.  These  Trades  Unions  have 
undertaken  the  same  task,  and  a  brilliant  writer  in  the 
last  North  American  Review  pleads  eloquently  for  the 
organization  of  labor  as  the  counterpart  of  organized 
capital.  But  their  proposals  are  so  biased  and  one- 
sided there  is  no  possible  hope  of  a  solution  in  them, 
and  we  are  free  to  say  that  so  long  as  the  human 


THE  RICH  AND  POOR.  283 

mind  remains  darkened  by  sin,  and  the  human  heart 
depraved,  there  can  be  no  permanent  reformation  from 
this  source.  While  it  is  true  that  "to  err  is  human,"  no 
hard  and  fast  line  can  be  drawn  between  labor  and 
capital,  defining  the  sphere  of  each,  and  saying  to  each, 
"Thus  far  shalt  thou  go,  and  no  farther/' 

II.  By  destroying  the  relation  altogether.  In  this 
view  there  is  no  such  thing  as  employer  and  employed, 
but  each  sustains  both  relations.  This  is  the  principle 
upon  which  co-operative  societies  are  based.  And  that 
they  have  had  a  large  measure  of  success  appears  in 
the  fact  that  the  "Rochdale  Equitable  Pioneers'  Soci- 
ety," England,  had,  in  1872,  6,444  members,  a  busi- 
ness of  ,£267,577,  and  a  net  income  of  ^33,640;  and 
the  "London  Civil  Service  Supply  Association, "in  1873, 
comprehended  a  secretary,  treasurer,  accountant,  sev- 
eral managers  and  storekeepers,  seventy  clerks,  three 
hundred  and  ninety-four  assistants  and  twenty-seven 
servants  and  porters.  Some  forty  different  attempts 
have  been  made  at  co-operation  in  this  country.  The 
most  successful,  perhaps,  was  the  "B.  &  O.  Laborers' 
Relief  Association,"  organized  two  years  ago,  and  since 
that  time  has  given  out  more  than  $300,000.  But  this 
scheme  lies  open  to  the  same  objections  with  the  for- 
mer. It  requires  honesty,  confidence  and  intelligence 
on  the  part  of  all  the  members,  and  these  are  elements 
that  corrupt  human  nature  does  not  spontaneously  pro- 
duce. "Co-operative  production  would  only  increase 
the  difficulty,  because  by  it  the  worker  gets  his  share 
of  the  products  last  in  the  process  of  making  and  mar- 
keting goods,  and  not  first,  as  under  the  existing  sys- 


284  REFORMA  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

tern;  so  that  a  rise  in  prices  would  cripple  them  more 
under  co-operative  production  than  under  the  wage  sys 
tern.  Indeed,  in  my  own  mind,  it  is  a  question  wheth- 
er universal  co-operation,  including  the  production  and 
distribution  of  crops,  and  even  all  the  business  inter- 
ests of  life,  would  remedy  the  difficulty,  or  to  any 
great  extent  avoid  the  inequalities  in  capacity  to  earn 
and  consume.  Co-operation  cannot  do  away  with  cap- 
ital; neither  can  it  do  away  with  the  agents  of  capital.  " 
— Princeton  Review. 

Co-operation  has  been  weighed  in  the  balance  and 
found  wanting.  It  is  not  cosmopolitan.  It  never  has 
and  never  can  become  universal.  It  does  not  offer  an 
adequate  solution  of  this  difficulty. 

III.  By  writing  the  law  of  Christianity  upon  the 
minds  of  both  employer  and  employ  ed,  and  infusing  the 
spirit  of  Christianity  into  their  hearts.  Here  "the  rich 
and  poor  meet  together."  Christianity  addresses  itself 
to  man  in  every  possible  relation  in  life,  as  officer  and 
citizen,  as  husband  and  wife,  as  father  and  mother,  as 
brother  and  sister,  as  son  and  daughter,  as  clergy  and 
layman,  as  neighbor  and  stranger,  as  employer  and 
employed.  It  does  not  destroy  these  relations,  but  ele- 
vates, purifies  and  perfects  them.  Labor  can  not  exist 
without  capital,  and  capital  can  not  thrive  without  labor. 
"The  world  over,  it  is  the  ordering  of  Providence  that, 
while  the  working  classes  are  dependent,  directly  or  in- 
directly, upon  the  rich  for  employment  and  so  for  live- 
lihood, the  rich  are  just  as  dependent  on  them,  not  only 
for  the  revenues  that  enrich  them,  but  for  soldiers  and 
sailors  to  defend  them  and  their  country  in  time  of 


THE  RICH  AND  POOR.  ^         285 

war.  Their  wealth  is  absolutely  at  the  mercy  of  for- 
eign invaders,  or  of  lawless  and  ungovernable  mobs, 
springing,  as  it  were,  out  of  the  ground  at  their  very 
doors,  unless  the  working  classes  rally  to  their  defense.  " 
— Hon.  Chief  Justice  C.  D.  Drake. 

Labor  and  capital  have  been  joined  together  by  God 
himself,  and  man  may  not  put  them  asunder.  The 
voice  of  Christianity  is:  "Labor,  all  its  rights — capital, 
all  its  rights — equal  and  exact  justice  for  all."  Under 
this  influence  a  new  sense  of  responsibility  will  arise 
in  the  mind  of  the  employer.  He  will  look  upon  his 
foundry,  factory,  or  store,  as  a  sort  of  corporation,  of 
which  he  is  the  head,  and  answerable  to  God  for  the 
use  he  makes  of  his  position.  He  will  look  upon  him- 
self as  God's  steward,  and  the  men  in  his  employ  as  a 
trust  committed  to  him.  He  will  feel  that  he  is  ac- 
countable to  God  for  the  use  he  makes  of  his  opportu- 
nities to  better  their  condition  and  elevate  them  in  mor- 
ality and  virtue.  The  same  sense  of  responsibility  will 
arise  in  the  mind  of  the  employed.  He  will  no  long- 
er be  discontented  with  the  orderings  and  allotments 
of  Providence.  He  will  no  longer  regard  it  as  a  crime 
to  be  rich  and  a  disgrace  to  be  poor.  He  will  take 
heart  and  be  strong,  as  he  remembers  that  Jesus  Christ 
sanctified  labor  by  allying  himself  with  the  working 
classes.  He  will  take  courage  as  he  remembers  those 
words  of  derision  spoken  against  Christ,  "which  have 
come  down,  as  it  were,  along  the  telephone  of  the  ages, 
to  the  ear  of  every  working  man  and  working  woman 
to  whom  the  Gospel  has  come,  or  ever  shall  come,  an- 
nouncing Jesus  to  them  as  one  whose  heart  would  ever 


286  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

sympathize  with  them  in  their  trials  and  rightful  tri- 
umphs. Is  not  this  the  carpenter?"  He  will  fe.el  that 
his  employer's  interests  are  his  interests,  and  in  serving 
them  he  is  serving  God.  He  will  deny  himself  the 
lusts  of  the  flesh,  the  lusts  of  the  eye,  and  the  pride  of 
life,  not  only  for  the  sake  of  his  family  and  the  honor 
of  the  religion  which  he  professes,  but  that  he  may  ren- 
der the  best  possible  service  in  the  use  of  all  his  pow- 
ers. He  will  feel  that  a  willing,  honest  and  efficient 
service  is  a  duty  to  God.  He  will  no  longer  be  a  time- 
server.  He  will  act  conscientiously  and  faithfully,  not 
with  eye  service,  as  men-pleasers,  but  as  to  the  Lord, 
doing  the  will  of  the  great  Task-master.  Christianity 
makes  a  place  subordinate  to  man.  It  assumes  that  a 
man  may  be  great  in  a  low  place  and  small  in  a  high 
place.  "Pigmies  are  pigmies  still,  though  perched  on 
Alps,  and  pyramids  are  pyramids,  thongh  in  the  vale. " 

Christianity  is  the  friend  of  both  employer  and  em- 
ployed. 

I.  It  requires  the  employers  to  give  and  entitles  the  em- 
ployed to  receive  full  wages.  The  rich  offend  God  and  sin 
against  their  souls  in  withholding  the  wages  of  the  poor. 
Wages  are  the  working  man's  reward,  his  bread,  his 
life.  They  are  the  vital  force  of  his  muscle,  sinew, 
nerve  and  purpose.  Hence  the  voice  of  God  cries  out 
for  them  and  against  all  employers  who  wrongfully 
withhold  their  wages.  "Woe  unto  him  that  useth  his 
neighbor's  services  without  wages,  and  giveth  him  not 
for  his  work."  The  worker  needs  quick  pay,  and  God 
says,  "The  wages  of  him  that  is  hired  shall  not  abide 
with  thee  all  night  until  the  morning."  All  night 


THE  RICH  AND  POOR.  287 

seems  too  long  and  he  adds,  "At  his  day  shall  thou 
give  him  his  hire,  neither  shall  the  sttn  go  down  upon 
it;  for  he  is  poor,  and  setteth  his  heart  upon  it. "  God 
has  given  special  warning  of  vengeance  to  the  oppres- 
sive rich.  "Go  to,  now,  ye  rich  men,  weep  and  howl 
for  your  miseries  that  shall  come  upon  you.  Your 
riches  are  corrupted  and  your  garments  are  moth-eaten. 
Your  gold  and  silver  is  cankered,  and  rust  of  them 
shall  be  a  witness  against  you,  and  shall  eat  your 
flesh  as  it  were  fire.  Behold  the  hire  of  the  laborers 
who  have  reaped  down  your  fields,  which  is  of  you 
kept  back  by  fraud,  crieth,  and  the  cries  of  them  which 
have  reaped  are  entered  into  the  ears  of  the  Lord  of 
Saboath.  "  The  cries  of  the  oppressed  poor  are  heard 
on  high,  God  comes  to  deliver;  then  the  rust  of  the 
cankered  gold  and  silver  will  not  be  the  only  witness 
against  their  oppressors.  "But,"  saith  the  Lord  of 
Hosts,  "I  will  be  a  swift  witness  against  those  that  op- 
press the  hireling  in  his  wages;  I  will  come  near  you 
to  judgment."  The  divine  law  goes  farther — it  re- 
quires the  wages  to  be/w// — not  a  mere  modicum  of 
existence,  what  will  serve  to  keep  the  wolf  from  the 
door,  but  what  will  make  a  solid  foundation  for  hope 
of  bettering  their  worldly  condition.  Not  that  the 
working  classes  are  to  be  lifted  bodily  into  affluence 
and  high  social  position  for  which  they  would  be  un- 
fit, and  where  they  would  cease  to  be  workers,  but  their 
wages  are  to  be  such  as  will  raise  them  to  a  higher 
place  and  a  better  condition  of  physical  life.  And  it  is 
a  curse  in  the  sight  of  God  for  a  rich  man  to  use  the 
services  of  a  poor  man  with  any  other  view.  I  know 


REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 


this  is  not  a  current  doctrine  at  the  present  day.  The 
worldly  man  says:  "The  market  is  flooded  with  work- 
men. I  can  duplicate  my  force  at  any  hour  of  the  day, 
and  at  less  wages  than  I  am  paying  my  men.  I  shall, 
therefore,  reduce  their  wages  to  a  minimum."  That  is 
the  animus  of  the  world.  You  see  how  hard  and  cruel 
it  is.  It  is  the  essence  of  selfishness.  Surely  "some- 
thing is  rotten  in  Denmark"  when  such  a  sentiment  is 
possible.  It  is  earthly,  sensual,  devilish.  Let  those 
who  entertain  it  listen  to  what  God  says:  "He  that  op- 
presseth  the  poor  reproacheth  his  maker;  he  shall  sure- 
ly come  to  want.  He  that  by  unjust  gain  increaseth 
his  substance,  shall  gather  it  for  him  that  will  pity  the 
the  poor.  Because  ye  despise  this  word,  and  trust  in 
oppression,  and  stay  thereon,  therefore  this  iniquity 
shall  be  to  you  as  a  breach  ready  to  fall,  swelling  out 
in  a  high  wall,  whose  breaking  cometh  suddenly  at  an 
instant.  Hear  this,  O  ye  that  swallow  up  the  needy, 
even  to  make  the  poor  of  the  land  to  fail;  the  Lord 
hath  sworn,  Surely,  I  will  never  forget  any  of  their 
works.  Shall  not  the  land  tremble  for  this,  and  every 
one  mourn  that  dwelleth  therein?  And  it  shall  come 
to  pass  in  that  day,  saith  the  Lord  God,  that  I  shall 
turn  your  feasts  into  mourning,  and  all  your  songs  into 
lamentation;  and  I  will  bring  up  sack-cloth  upon  all 
loins  and  baldness  upon  every  head;  and  I  will  make 
it  as  the  mourning  of  an  only  son,  and  the  end  thereof  as 
a  bitter  day. "  And  let  those  that  are  oppressed  hear 
what  God  saith  to  them:  "The  Lord  executeth  right- 
eousness to  them  that  are  oppressed.  He  delivereth 
the  poor  from  him  that  is  too  strong  for  him;  yea,  the 


THE  RICH  AND  POOR,  289 

poor  and  needy  from  him  that  spoileth  them.  He 
shall  save  the  children  of  the  needy  and  shall  break  in 
pieces  the  oppressor.  The  Lord  will  maintain  the  cause 
of  the  afflicted  and  the  right  of  the  poor.  He  shall  re- 
deem their  soul  from  deceit  and  violence,  and  precious 
shall  their  blood  be  in  his  sight." 

On  the  other  hand  the  Christian  employer  says: 
"The  wages  of  my  workmen  shall  be  increased  to  the 
maximum  limit  of  my  ability  to  pay.  They  are 
American  citizens.  They  have  their  vote.  They 
must  be  educated.  They  must  educate  their  families. 
They  must  have  homes.  They  must  have  the  means 
of  making  them  pleasant  and  attractive.  They  must 
have  books  and  papers.  They  must  be  free  and 
independent.  I  am  responsible  for  all  this.  So  far  as 
lies  in  my  power  their  wages  shall  be  equal  to  these 
requirements."  You  recognize  at  once  the  spirit  of 
Christianity  here.  In  doing  this  the  Christian  em- 
ployer best  serves  himself,  his  country,  his  church  and 
his  God.  Here  "the  rich  and  the  poor  must  meet 
together." 

2.  It  requires  the  State  to  protect  both  employer  and 
employed  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  respective  rights. 
The  State  is  the  divinely  appointed  keeper  of  the  moral 
law.  It  does  not  deal  in  matters  of  faith.  That  has  been 
relegated  to  the  Church.  But  it  deals  with  law,  its 
enforcement  and  execution.  The  State  should  protect 
capital  against  the  encroachments  of  labor.  It  should 
also  protect  labor  against  the  oppressions  of  capital. 
It  should  guard  capital  against  the  dangers  and  evils 
of  strikes,  as  the  law  of  Pennsylvania  forbidding 


290  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

locomotive  engineers  striking  under  certain  specified 
conditions,  attest.  It  should  also  guard  labor  against 
the  injustice  that  necessitates  a  strike.  It  should 
reduce  to  a  minimum  the  necessity  of  one.  But  un- 
fortunately in  our  country  the  legislation  has  almost 
uniformly  been  one-sided.  Through  the  manipula- 
tion of  Legislatures  by  our  money  powers,  there  is  no 
end  to  provisions  and  enactments  in  the  interest  of 
capital.  But  next  to  nothing  has  been  done  for  labor. 
The  interests  of  the  laboring  man  are  as  much  neg- 
glected  as  a  railroad  in  the  West,  concerning  which  a 
resigning  engineer  said,  "Nothing  is  left  of  it  but  two 
streaks  of  rust  and  the  right  of  way."  Let  a  rich  man 
fail,  and  there  is  a  bankrupt  law  available  for  him. 
But  let  a  poor  man  get  hopelessly  in  debt,  and  one- 
tenth  of  them  are,  and  there  is  no  bankrupt  law 
within  his  reach.  There  is  stinging  injustice  here. 
Listen  to  the  voice  of  God:  "The  Lord  will  enter 
into  judgment  with  the  ancients  of  his  people,  and  the 
princes  thereof;  for  the  spoils  of  the  poor  is  in  your 
houses.  What  mean  ye  that  ye  beat  my  people  to 
pieces  and  grind  the  faces  of  the  poor?  For  as  much 
as  your  treading  is  upon  the  poor,  ye  have  built 
houses  of  hewn  stone,  but  ye  shall  not  dwell  in  them; 
ye  have  planted  pleasant  vineyards,  but  ye  shall  not 
drink  wine  of  them.  For  I  know  your  manifold  trans- 
gressions and  your  mighty  sins.  Thou  hast  greedily 
gained  of  thy  neighbor  by  extortion  and  hast  forgotten 
me.  Behold  I  have  smitten  mine  hand  at  thy  dishonest 
gain  which  thou  hast  made.  Can  thine  heart  endure, 
or  can  thy  hands  be  strong  in  the  days  that  I  shall 


THE  RICH  AND  POOR.  291 

deal  with  thee?  I,  the  Lord,  have  spoken  it,  and  will 
do  it." 

One  of  the  Egyptian  Kings  employed  a  celebrated 
architect  to  build  a  lighthouse,  and  required  him  to 
engrave  the  royal  name  on  the  front  stone.  The 
architect  secretly  carved  his  own  name  in  the  lasting 
granite,  and  then  covering  it  with  imitative  plaster, 
formed  the  King's  name  there.  In  the  process  of  time 
the  plaster  wore  away,  and  the  builder's  name  appear- 
ed in  characters  that  could  not  be  effaced.  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  great  architect  of  our  Nation's  Temple. 
His  name  is  carved  in  the  solid  granite  of  truth. 
Other  names  appear  yet.  But  they  are  engraven  in 
the  plaster,  that  will  soon  fall  away.  And  then  the 
temple  of  justice  will  arise  in  majesty  with  the  name 
of  the  ''King  of  Peace"  on  the  front  stone.  Then 
will  "the  rich  and  poor  meet  together." 

3.  It  furnishes  a  regularly  recurring  rest  day,  the 
need  of  both  employer  and  employed.  The  laborer  must 
have  his  Sabbath  rest.  Without  it  he  suffers  bodily 
and  mental  deterioration.  Capital  must  have  its  Sab- 
bath. Without  it  the  wrath  and  curse  of  God  abide 
upon  it.  The  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  disre- 
garded this  divine  edict,  and  one  Sabbath  day  in  Au- 
gust, 1877,  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  locomotives 
were  consumed  by  the  torch  in  the  round-houses  of 
Pittsburgh.  The  Jewish  nation  trampled  upon  the 
Sabbath,  and  God  brought  Nebuchadnezzer,  who  car- 
ried them  captive  to  Babylon,  and  held  them  in  bond- 
age for  seventy  years,  "that  my  land  may  have  her 
Sabbaths,  saith  the  Lord. "  The  French  nation  abol- 


292  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

ished  the  Sabbath  and  adopted  every  tenth  day  as  a 
holiday;  but  soon  one  of  their  leading  statesmen  ex- 
claimed: "This  law  will  ruin  our  nation."  Lord 
Macaulay  said  in  the  English  House  of  Commons: 
"We  in  England  are  not  poorer,  but  richer,  because 
we  have  these  many  ages  rested  from  our  labors 
one  day  in  seven.  The  day  is  not  lost.  While  indus- 
try is  suspended,  while  the  plough  lies  in  the  furrow, 
while  the  exchange  is  silent,  while  no  smoke  ascends 
from  the  factory,  a  process  is  going  on  quite  as  import- 
ant to  the  wealth  of  nations  as  any  process  \vhich  is 
performed  on  more  busy  days.  Man,  the  machine  of 
machines,  the  machine  compared  with  which  all  the 
contrivances  of  the  Watts  and  Arkwrights  are  worth- 
less, is  repairing  and  winding  up,  so  that  he  returns  to 
his  labors  on  Monday  with  clearer  intellect,  with  live- 
lier spirits,  with  renewed  corporeal  vigor."  The  Sab- 
bath is  the  arrangement,  appointment  and  contrivance 
of  heaven  for  man.  It  was  instituted  by  the  Creator 
at  the  beginning,  and  hallowed  by  his  example.  It 
was  re-enacted  by  the  same  authority  at  Sinai,  and 
engrossed  in  the  heart  of  the  decalogue;  a  law  that 
was  delivered  by  God's  own  voice  amid  the  fire  and 
smoke  to  indicate  its  majesty  and  authority,  and  writ- 
ten upon  two  tables  of  stone  to  indicate  its  perpetuity. 
It  was  re-enacted  again  at  the  resurrection  of  Christ 
with  added  obligations  and  conditions.  It  has  its 
necessity  in  the  nature  of  man  and  its  authority  in 
God's  Word.  "Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep 
it  holy."  In  it  "The  rich  and  poor  meet  together." 


THE  RICH  AND  POOR.  293 

4.  It  furnishes  a  spirit  of  true  love  which  reduces 
every  relation  of  employer  and  employed  to  perfect 
order  and  silent  harmony.  Just  as  the  law  of  gravi- 
tation holds  all  the  worlds  in  their  respective  spheres, 
so  that  each  moves  in  its  own  path  without  let  or 
hindrance,  and  all  work  together  harmonious  as  the 
swinging  of  a  pendulum,  so  this  spirit  of  love  keeps  all 
the  forces  and  agencies  of  society  in  their  respective 
places,  so  that  none  are  lost,  none  are  abnormally 
developed  and  none  are  dwarfed,  but  all  accomplish 
the  great  end  of  their  existence.  Stockton  has 
sounded  the  key-note  when  he  said:  "Love  is  the 
excellence  of  all  things.  A  world  of  love  is  the  best 
world.  A  being  of  love  is  the  best  being.  The  art 
of  love  is  the  best  art.  The  science  of  love  is  the  best 
science.  The  philosophy  of  love  is  the  best  philosophy. 
The  poetry  of  love  is  the  best  poetry.  The  govern- 
ment of  love  is  the  best  government.  The  religion 
of  love  is  the  best  religion.  There  is  no  name 
higher  than  the  name  of  love.  The  Christian  is 
the  child  of  love.  The  Church  is  the  home  of 
love.  The  Bible  is  the  book  of  love.  With 
infinite  reverence  we  would  add:  Jesus  Christ  is 
justifying  Ipve;  the  Holy  Spirit  is  sanctifying  love; 
the  Father  is  glorifying  love.  In  one  word,  God  is 
love."  This  is  the  true  remedy  for  the  differences 
between  labor  and  capital.  Touch  every  other  with 
IthuriePs  spear  and  it  assumes  its  native  hatefulness. 
But  this  one  stands  unchanged  and  unchangeable. 
The  world  cast  out  this  spirit  of  love  and  the  apple  of 
discord  is  thrown  in.  Let  love  return  and  discord 


294  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

must  go  out.  Let  the  Church  reject  this  love  and  her 
figure  is  "the  mother  of  harlots,"  disgraced  and  pol- 
luted, as  we  see  in  the  Church  of  Rome,  twelve  cen- 
turies old  in  apostacy.  Let  her  accept  it,  and  her 
figure  is  "the  daughter  of  the  King,  clothed  in  the 
garments  of  wrought  gold,  and  standing  at  the  King's 
right  hand,"  as  we  have  it  in  the  Church  of  the  first 
and  second  Reformation.  Let  the  State  reject  it,  and 
she  is  "like  that  unactive  and  lifeless  Colossus,  of 
which  Milton  had  at  one  time  the  vision,  standing  like 
the  carved  image  of  a  giant,  menacing  only  to  children 
and  weaklings,  with  arm  and  club  lifted,  but  never 
striking  a  blow,"  as  exemplified  in  "Turkey  in  Europe." 
Let  the  State  accept  it,  and  she  is  "like  that  noble 
and  puissant  one,  which  Milton  at  another  time  saw 
in  his  vision,  rousing  herself,  like  a  giant  starting  from 
sleep,  and  shaking  her  invisible  locks,"  as  we  have  it 
in  what  the  United  States  should  be.  Let  the  Church 
and  State  both  accept  it,  and  the  latter,  according  to 
the  prophet,  is  a  "mountain,"  solid,  stable  and  sure, 
and  the  former  is  the  prosperous  and  well-ordered 
"city,"  upon  its  summit,  beautiful  and  glorious,  the 
joy  of  the  whole  earth.  The  vision  of  the  wheels, 
which  Ezekiel  saw  by  the  river  Chebar;  "wheel  within 
wheel,"  whose  movements  were  "high  and  dreadful," 
and  which  "moved  by  the  spirit  of  the  living 
creatures,"  represent  God's  government  in  this  world 
in  its  mystery,  harmony,  power,  universality  and 
glory.  The  "spirit  of  the  living  creatures''  is  this 
spirit  of  love.  The  time  of  this  vision  is  at  hand. 
Already  the  day  is  dawning.  The  eighty  thousand 


THE  RICH  AND  POOR.  .        295 

pulpits  in  our  land  are  proclaiming  its  advent.  It 
brings  a  cessation  of  hostilities  between  labor  and 
capital.  Then  will  all  jarring  and  discord  cease,  and 
peace,  truth  and  righteousness  flow  down  our  streets 
as  a  mighty  stream.  Then  will  the  rich  honor  the 
poor,  and  the  poor  will  befriend  the  rich.  Then  will 
a  jubilee  be  proclaimed  throughout  all  the  land,  to  all 
the  inhabitants  thereof.  Then  will  a  triumphant 
Nation  answer  an  exalted  Church: 

"Therefore,  I  wish  that  peace  may  still 

Within  thy  walls  remain, 
And  ever  may  thy  palaces 

Prosperity  retain. 
Now,  for  my  friends'  and  brethren's  sakes, 

Peace  be  in  thee,  I'll  say, 
And  for  the  house  of  God  our  Lord, 

I'll  seek  thy  good  alway." 

II.  The  Labor  Question.  Rev.  Amory  H.  Brad- 
ford, D.  D.,  has  written  two  articles  for  the  Independent, 
on  "Socialism  from  the  Socialistic  Standpoint."  He 
says  we  must  distinguish  between  socialism  as  an 
organization  and  a  sentiment.  As  an  organization 
it  is  the  enemy  of  existing  institutions.  As  a  senti- 
ment it  is  an  attempt  of  the  poorer  classes  to  better 
their  condition.  "The  sentiment  is  laudable;  the 
organization  is  execrable. "  It  is  our  purpose  to  con- 
sider the  labor  question  as  a  sentiment. 

The  labor  question  is  the  perplexing  problem  of  the 
hour.  A  great  many  solutions  are  proposed  but  none 
prove  effectual.  It  is  not  yet  settled  precisely  where 
the  difficulty  is  located.  When  the  matter  was  pro- 
posed to  Carlyle  he  hastily  exclaimed:  "The  labor 


296  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

question !  And  what  is  the  labor  question,  but  two 
days' pay  for  one  day's  work!  That  is  the  whole  of 
it."  That  lays  the  whole  blame  at  the  door  of  the 
the  working  man,  and  it  does  him  great  injustice.  The 
employer  must  bear  a  share  of  the  responsibility.  In 
his  haste  to  become  rich  he  is  often  cruelly  unjust  to 
his  employes.  A  few  years  ago  the  nail  manufacturers 
formed  a  pool  and  closed  their  manufactories  for  six 
months.  Their  object  was  to  drain  the  market  and 
increase  the  price  of  nails.  They  accomplished  their 
purpose  and  reaped  enormous  profits.  But  then  work- 
men were  thrown  into  enforced  idleness  for  half  a  year 
without  any  means  of  living,  and  the  cost  of  bread  was 
increased — a  two-edged  sword  cutting  the  workmen 
in  the  backward  and  forward  sweep.  No  wonder 
workmen  become  discontented  when  such  injustice 
is  practiced  toward  them.  But  the  fault  is  not  all  on 
one  side.  Some  years  ago  the  locomotive  engineers 
in  Ohio  struck  for  higher  wages.  They  were  receiving 
an  average  of  $1,000  per  annum.  They  demanded  an 
increase  of  $200.  The  clergymen  of  the  State  were 
receiving  an  average  salary  of  $700,  and  all  know 
that  the  social  position  they  occupy  multiplies  the  de- 
mands upon  their  purse.  But  whoever  hears  of  the 
ministry  striking  for  higher  salary?  Why  did  the  loco- 
motive engineers  strike  for  higher  wages?  That  they 
might  buy  homes  and  educate  their  families?  No,  for 
they  had  the  means  at  hand  for  these  legitimate  pur- 
poses. It  was  to  feed  the  saloons.  And  until  the 
mouths  of  these  tireless  gormandizers  of  the  working- 
man's  wages  have  been  closed  by  law,  there  will  always 


THE  RICH  AND  POOR.  297 

be  a  sufficient  reason  for  strikes.      What  are  the  prin- 
ciples upon  which  these  troubles  must  be  settled? 

I.  The  relation  of  employer  and  employe  is  a  con- 
tracted one,  and  involves  mutual  rights  and  reciprocal 
duties.  All  men  by  nature  are  free  and  equal.  "God 
has  made  of  one  blood  all  the  nations  of  men  for  to 
dwell  upon  the  face  of  the  earth."  The  members  of 
their  bodies,  their  mental  faculties,  are  the  same. 
"They  are  ali  rational,  responsible  and  immortal  beings, 
and  every  man  is  equally  bound  to  treat  every  other 
man  according  to  the  laws  of  truth,  justice  and  humanity. 
But  while,  in  reference  to  nature,  men  are  equal,  in 
reference  to  condition  they  are  endlessly  diversified. 
In  bodily  qualities,  such  as  beauty,  strength  and  agility; 
in  mental  faculties,  such  as  judgment,  imagination  and 
memory;  in  external  circumstances,  from  the  rudest 
state  of  barbarism  to  the  highest  state  of  refinement,, 
from  the  most  abject  poverty  to  the  most  abundant 
wealth,  the  greatest  difference  prevails  among  the  pos- 
sessors of  our  common  nature." — Dr.  Brown.  Out  of 
these  differences  arise  wants.  A  man  of  means  has 
more  work  than  he  can  do.  A  poor  man  has  time  and 
skill  to  dispose  of.  The  latter  agrees  to  give  and  the 
former  agrees  to  take  this  "time  and  skill  and  capacity 
of  labor"  for  a  certain  consideration.  This  is  aeon- 
tract.  Neither  was  bound  to  enter  into  the  relation- 
ship. But  when  it  is  consummated  both  are  bound. 
Whether  written  or  unwritten,  it  is  binding.  This 
principle  operates  between  the  corporation  and  the 
trades  union. 


298  RE  FORMA  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

2.  The  duties  of  the  workmen  are  plainly  stated  in 
I  Peter,  2:18.  "Servants,  be  subject  to  your  masters 
with  all  fear;  not  only  to  the  good  and  gentle;  but 
also  to  the  froward.  For  this  is  thank-worthy,  if  a  man 
for  conscience  toward  God  endure  grief,  suffering 
wrongfully."  Here  the  apostle  lays  down,  (i)  The 
duties  of  workmen  in  general — "Be  subject.'"  And 
that  includes:  (a)  Obedience  to  the  commands  of  the 
employer.  They  must  do  what  is  required  in  the  way 
required.  They  have  sold  their  time,  talent  and 
capacity  of  labor  at  a  price.  They  no  longer  belong 
to  themselves;  they  are  the  property  of  their  employer 
and  he  has  a  right  to  do  what  he  will  with  his  own. 
They  are  under  authority  and  when  bid  come,  must 
come;  when  bid  go,  must  go;  when  bid  do  this,  must 
do  it.  This  does  not  imply  that  they  are  bound  to  do 
what  is  wrong,  or  what  is  impossible,  or  what  does  not 
fall  within  the  limits  of  the  agreement.  But  with  these 
limitations  they  must  "obey  in  all  things."  They  must 
yield  a  respectful,  faithful,  dilligent  and  cheerful  obe- 
dience, (b)  Submission  to  his  appointments.  His  ar- 
rangement for  executing  the  work  must  be  acquiesced 
in,  whether  agreeable  or  disagreeable.  They  are  at 
his  own  disposal.  (2)  The  duties  of  a  particular  class 
of  workmen — those  who  have  not  "good,"  "kind  and 
gentle" employers,  but  "froward,"  perverse,  unreason- 
able, rough  and  unkind.  It  is  no  part  of  a  workman's 
duty  to  hire  to  such  a  man,  nor  to  continue  longer  in 
his  service  than  the  contract  lasts.  And  it  is  his  priv- 
ilege to  avail  himself  of  all  legal  means  of  protecting 
himself  in  his  rights  while  filling  the  engagement.  But 


THE  RICH  AND  POOR.  299 

it  is  his  duty  to  carry  out  his  contract,  even  though  it 
cost  him  much  unmerited  suffering.  And  this  unmer- 
ited suffering  must  be  endured  patiently  and  meekly, 
for  two  reasons — first,  "because  patient  endurance  of 
undeserved  suffering  is  of  high  estimation  in  the  sight 
of  God,"  acceptable  to  God;  and  second,  because  it  is 
a  part  of  that  conformity  to  the  image  of  God's  Son, 
to  which  Christians  are  called,  and  to  secure  which  was 
one  great  design  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  vs.  19-25. 

3.  The  duties  of  the  employer  are  stated  in  Col. 
iv:  i.  "Masters,  give  unto  your  servants  that  which 
is  just  and  equal;  knowing  that  ye  also  have  a  master 
in  heaven."  The  employer  must  be  "just  and  equal" 
in  his  demands  and  appointments.  When  his  gains 
are  increased  he  is  to  share  his  prosperity  with  his 
workmen.  When  his  gains  are  diminished  he  is  for- 
bidden to  reduce  his  employes  to  starving  wages.  It 
is  not  necessary  for  him  to  get  rich  at  all,  but  it  is  nec- 
essary that  his  workmen  get  a  living.  "That  which  is 
just  and  equal,"  means  aa  fair  day's  wages  for  a  fair 
day's  work,"  wages  sufficient  to  lay  by  a  little  for  a 
rainy  day,  ability  to  buy  a  home  and  educate  a  family. 
But  employers  do  not  do  it.  Rev.  G.  S.  Reany,  a 
noble  worker  in  East  London,  says,  in  the  English 
Congregationalist  for  December,  1 884:  "The  fact,  and 
no  one  denies  it,  is  this:  There  are  men  engaged  in 
large  commercial  enterprises,  and  some  of  them  are 
professed  Christian  men,  who  have  made,  and  are  still 
making,  large  profits,  and  who  pay  workers  in  the 
East  End  and  elsewhere  the  miserable  pittance  of  one 
shilling  for  a  day's  work  of  twelve,  fourteen  and  six- 


300  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

teen  hours."  Dr.  Bradford  says:  "  Virginius,  with  his 
cleaver,  struck  to  the  earth  his  daughter,  whom  Appius 
Claudius  sought  to  ruin.  Let  us  be  frank.  How 
much  better  than  the  Roman  Decemvir  are  those  em- 
ployers who  compel  the  daughters  of  our  humblest 
homes  to  work  at  wages  which  mean  starvation  or 
crime?  Joseph  Cook,  in  Tremont  Temple,  said  he 
knew  and  could  name  employers  in  Boston  who  were 
doing  that.  I  repeated  that  statement  to  a  prominent 
Boston  merchant,  and  he  declared  that  he  knew  men 
eminent  in  business  who  told  the  girls  who  worked  for 
them  that  if  they  could  not  live  on  their  wages  they 
knew  how  they  could  live.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Rainsford 
said,  at  the  Congregational  Club  in  New  York,  that  he 
knew  of  factories  in  the  city  in  which  it  was  impossible 
for  young  women  to  secure  higher  positions,  or  better 
pay,  and  remain  virtuous.  Corporations,  which  need 
not  do  it,  are  working  employes  eighteen  hours  a  day. 
Monopolies  are  compelling  men  to  work  at  dangerous 
occupations  for  a  dollar  a  day,  and  less;  not  because 
they  must  do  so  or  liquidate,  but  simply  because  they 
can  get  others  to  work  for  that."  "That  which  is  just 
and  equal"  is  not  being  practiced  by  employers,  either 
individual  or  corporate.  And  hence  these  strikes. 

4.  Nothing  but  the  principle  of  Christian  love  can 
secure  the  application  of  these  laws.  "Love  is  the 
fulfilling  of  the  law."  Husbands  are  to  love  their 
wives  and  manifest  it  "by  honoring  them  and  provid- 
ing for  them."  Wives  are  to  love  their  husbands  and 
show  it  by  "obeying  them  in  the  Lord."  Parents  are 
to  love  their  children  and  manifest  it  by  "bringing 


THE  RICH  AND  POOR.  ,         301 

them  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord." 
Children  are  to  love  their  parents  and  show  it  by 
"being  obedient  to  them  in  the  Lord."  "Masters  are 
to  love  their  servants,  and  to  show  this  by  being  kind 
and  considerate  in  their  requisitions  and  arrangements; 
and  servants  are  to  love  their  masters,  and  to  show 
that  they  do  so,  by  being  obedient  and  submissive, 
diligent  and  faithful."  Dr.  Bradford  has  shown  that 
"the  Christian  principle,  where  it  is  practiced,  makes 
all  destructive  and  pernicious  socialism  imposssible  by 
bringing  in  true  socialism,  that  in  which  the  strong 
bear  the  infirmities  of  the  weak."  "When  all  manu- 
facturers, according  to  their  ability,  treat  their  employ- 
es as  the  Tangys  and  Cadburys  of  Birmingham  treat 
theirs,  there  will  be  nothing  left  for  trades  unions  to 
do.  Those  great  firms  have  never  had  strikes,  and 
workmen  will  cross  England  any  time  to  get  a  chance 
to  work  in  their  factories.  What  is  the  secret?  These 
artisans  are  treated  as  if  they  were  men,  not  cogs  in  a 
wheel.  At  the  Tangys,  three  times  a  week,  during  the 
dinner  hour,  a  conference  is  held  by  a  distinguished 
literary  man,  who  gives  his  whole  time  to  the  education 
of  those  artisans.  Political,  social,  economic  questions 
he  discusses  with  them;  and  he,  too,  is  an  emplye  of 
the  company.  At  the  great  cocoa  works  of  the 
Cadbury's,  'family  prayers'  are  held  every  morning  at 
nine  o'clock.  The  time  is  not  deducted  from  the  men; 
and,  said  Mr.  George  Cadbury  to  me  'we  commenced 
it  because  we  believed  in  it;  we  should  continue  it  if 
for  no  other  reason,  because  it  pays.'  In  both  estab- 
lishments the  men  are  regarded  as  members  of  a  family 


302  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

and  their  interests  studied  as  such.  No  strikes  there! 
No  socialism  there!  When  the  revolution  comes  in 
England  these  men  will  defend  rather  than  destroy," 
This  is  the  solution  of  the  "Labor  Question." 


CHAPTER    XVII. 


CHURCH    UNITY. 

The  Church  of  Christ  is  one.  The  Bible  makes  no 
provision  for  a  divided  Church.  "I  will  give  them  one 
heart,"  is  the  promise  by  the  prophet.  The  prayer  of 
the  Savior  was,  "that  they  all  may  be  one."  The 
ideal  of  the  great  Apostle  was,  "One  Lord,  One  Faith, 
One  Baptism."  The  unity  of  the  tribes  was  found  in 
Jerusalem  the  centre  of  their  worship.  "Jerusalem  is 
builded  as  a  City  that  is  compact  together;  whither  the 
tribes  go  up. "  And  when  the  seer  of  Patmos  saw  the 
Church  Triumphant,  he  wrote,  "The  City  lieth  four 
square,  and  the  length  and  the  breadth  and  the  height 
of  it  are  equal;''  a  perfect  cube,  the  symbol  of 
perfection. 

This  is  not  an  agreement  to  differ,  which  means  to 
compromise  the  truth,  not  a  lying  down  of  the  lamb  and 
the  lion  each  unchanged  in  nature,  but  a  hearty 
incorporation  through  the  truth.  Professor  Taylor 
Lewis  was  right  when  he  said,  in  the  Evangelical 
Alliance,  in  New  York,  in  1873:  "Division  is  never 
to  be  treated  as  a  good  per  se.  I  can  never  go  with 
those  who  regard  denominational  distinctions  as  things 
totally  innocent  and  indifferent,  much  less  desirable. 
Let  union — ecclesiastical  union — take  place  without 
delay,  between  those  bodies  that  are  divided  by  the 


304  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

least  interval.  Let  the  last  parting  be  the  first  to  come 
together.  Let  it  be  deeply  impressed  on  every  mind 
that  the  greatness  of  the  sin  of  schism  is  in  the  inverse 
ratio  of  the  smallness  of  the  dividing  interval.'' 

I.  The  Church  is  one  in  her  Fundamental  Doctrines. 
We  distinguish  between  the  fundamental  and  the  cir- 
cumstantial. It  is  not  the  design  of  the  Head  of  the 
Church  that  there  should  be  uniformity  in  the  circum- 
stantials of  our  faith.  The  Greek  Church  attempted 
a  forced  uniformity,  but  it  was  the  unity  of  the  grave- 
yard. The  Church  of  Rome  tried  it;  but  theirs  is  the 
unity  produced  by  the  frost,  when  rocks  and  sticks  and 
clods  and  pearls  are  bound  together  in  one  icy  mass. 
The  Reformed  Church  turning  from  these  has  sought 
"the  unity  of  the  Spirit."  Charles  V.,  after  spending 
his  long  and  troublesome  reign  in  trying  to  coerce  the 
Reformers,  abdicated  the  throne  and  retired  to  a 
monastery.  Here  he  attempted  to  make  two  clocks 
run  together.  After  two  years'  trial  he  gave  it  up, 
saying:  "What  a  fool  I  have  been  to  try  and  make 
men  think  alike."  No  two  leaves  of  a  great  tree  are 
precisely  alike;  no  two  heads  of  wheat  in  the  greatest 
field,  no  two  stars  in  the  firmament,  no  two  men 
among  all  the  nations,  are  just  alike.  Unity  in  variety 
is  the  order  in  nature;  and  the  same  order  obtains  in 
grace,  so  far  as  pertains  to  the  circumstantials  of  our 
religion. 

But  in  the  great  fundamental  principles  of  Christ- 
ianity there  must  be  absolute  uniformity.  Every 
State  in  the  Union  has  its  Constitution  adapted  to  the 
wants  of  the  people  of  that  commonwealth.  Among 


CHURCH  UNITY.  305 


these  there  is  a  great  variety,  but  all  accept  the  United 
States  Constitution;  and  here  there  is  perfect  unity. 
In  the  Church's  fundamental  law  there  must  be  unity. 
At  the  first  the  Church's  Creed  was  simple.  Philip 
required  the  Ethiopian  eunuch  only  to  profess  his 
faith  in  the  divinity  of  Christ.  But  later,  heresy  arose, 
and  the  Church  was  forced  to  declare  her  faith  in  the 
great  doctrines  of  the  revelation.  The  Church's  Creed 
is  a  growth;  it  arose  out  of  controversy.  In  the 
4th  century  the  Arian  heresy  arose;  Arius  taught  that 
Christ  was  only  a  created  being.  Accordingly  the 
first  Ecumenical  Council  was  called  at  Nice,  A.  D.  325, 
and  the  scarred  veterans  from  the  ranks  of  the  cross 
in  all  quarters  gathered  and  decided  that  "Christ  is 
very  God  of  very  God.''  This  is  the  first  Article  in 
the  Church's  Constitution. 

Then  the  Apollinarian  heresy  arose,  the  denial  of 
Christ's  perfect  humanity.  The  second  Ecumenical 
Council  was  called  at  Constantinople,  A.  D.  381. 
This  council  decided  that  "Christ  is  very  man  of 
very  man."  This  is  the  second  Article  in  our 
fundamental  law.  Then  came  the  Nestorian  here- 
sy, the  separation  of  the  two  natures  of  Christ 
into  two  persons;  and  the  third  Ecumenical  Coun- 
cil was  called  at  Ephesus,  A.  D.  431,  which  affirmed 
the  unity  of  the  Person  of  our  Lord.  Then  the  Mo- 
nophysite  heresy  arose:  the  denial  of  two  distinct  na 
tures  of  Christ;  and  the  fourth  Council  at  Chalcedon, 
A.  D.  451,  decided  that  Christ  has  "two  distinct  na- 
tures, but  one  Person  forever. "  This  Council  repre- 
sents the  high-water  mark  of  the  Church's  attainments 


306  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

of  the  early  centuries;  the  so-called  Ecumenical  Coun- 
cils that  have  since  convened  were  not  universal,  and 
were  manipulated  by  Popes  and  Emperors.  Thus  we 
enter  the  Dark  Ages. 

This  night  rested  on  Europe  until  Oct.  31,  1517, 
when  Martin  Luther  nailed  his  95  Theses  to  the  door 
of  Wittenburg  Cathedral.  Then  the  First  Reforma- 
tion dawned.  The  Augsburg  Confession,  written  by 
Luther,  embodying  the  principles  of  the  Christian  In- 
stitutes of  John  Calvin,  and  adopted  by  the  Reform- 
ers in  1530,  represents  the  attainments  of  the  Church 
in  that  Reformation.  But  the  last  and  great  work  was 
done  by  the  Westminster  Assembly,  which  was  called 
by  the  Long  Parliament,  and  convened  in  the  chapel 
of  Henry  VII.,  July,  1643.  It  consisted  of  121  min- 
isters and  30  laymen,  10  lords  and  20  commoners. 
There  were  representatives  from  New  England  and 
Old  England,  from  the  British  Isles  and  the  Continent; 
it  was  Ecumenical.  The  Assembly  is  described  as 
learned,  faithful,  and  pious.  Their  first  act  was  to 
swear  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant.  They  con- 
tinued their  sessions  until  1649.  They  submitted  the 
Directory  of  Public  Worship  to  Parliament  in  1644, 
the  Confession  of  Faith  in  1646,  the  Shorter  Catechism 
in  1647,  and  the  Larger  Catechism  in  "1648.  These 
documents  were  returned  to  have  proof  texts  added, 
which  was  not  the  best  part  of  their  work.  They  did 
not  aim  at  originality,  but  fidelity.  It  was  not  their 
purpose  to  draw  out  doctrines  from  their  own  minds, 
as  the  spider  draws  her  web  from  her  own  bowels,  but 
only  to  gather  up  and  state  in  systematic  order  the 


CHURCH  UNITY.  307 


doctrines  of  their  predecessors.  The  doctrines  that 
were  so  ably  defended  by  Luther  and  Knox,  and  so 
powerfully  stated  by  Calvin,  were  the  doctrines  of  Huss 
and  Jerome,  of  Augustine  and  Athanasius,  of  Paul  and 
John.  The  doctrines  of  this  Assembly  were  those  of 
the  former  divines.  The  Westminster  Assembly  rep- 
resents the  attainments  of  the  Church  up  to  that  time. 
This  was  the  last  free  General  Assembly  the  Church 
has  had,  and  by  its  decisions  we  are  bound  until  God  in 
his  providence  gives  us  another.  When  the  martyrs 
of  Scotland  were  brought  to  the  scaffold  or  stake,  from 
1660  to  1688,  Scotland's  killing  time,  they  were  always 
wont  to  say,  "I  die  by  the  decisions  of  the  last  free 
General  Assembly,  and  I  appeal  for  vindication  to  the 
next  free  General  Assembly."  God  has  not  given  the 
Church  another  yet;  and  until  he  does  we  are  bound 
by  the  decisions  of  the  last.  Here  is  the  fatal  objection 
to  the  proposition  of  the  Presbyterian  General  Assem- 
bly to  change  the  Confession.  It  is  not  their  property; 
it  belongs  to  all  the  Reformed  Churches.  A  single 
branch  of  the  Church  may  make  a  Creed  for  itself  and 
alter  it  at  pleasure;  but  it  may  not  alter  or  amend  the 
work  of  the  Church  universal.  We  stand  upon  the 
broad  platform  of  the  First  and  Second  Reformations. 
We  will  stand  upon  the  decisions  of  the  last  free  Gen- 
eral Assembly  until  God  shall  prepare  the  way  for 
another.  And  when  the  next  Ecumenical  Council  is 
called,  the  basis  of  Union  will  be  formed  for  all  the 
Churches;  then  will  the  Church  be  one  in  her  funda- 
mental doctrines.  The  College  of  Bishops  of  the  Epis- 
copal Church  proposes  the  Chalcedon  Creed  as  a  basis 


308  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

of  union.  That  would  belike  asking  the  full-grown 
man  to  wear  the  coat  he  wore  when  six  years  old. 
Truth  is  an  unchangable  factor  but  our  knowledge  of  it 
is  a  growth.  The  Church  has  grown  and  her  Creed 
has  grown  and  these  attainments  are  not  to  be  discarded. 
"Whereto  we  have  already  attained,  let  us  walk."  We 
propose  a  new  Ecumenical  Council;  and  then  a  basis 
for  the  confederation  of  the  Reformed  Chnrch  will  be 
formulated.  In  the  meantime  the  Westminster  As- 
sembly's Confession  is  the  symbol  of  unity. 

II.  The  Church  is  one  in  her  Government.  There 
are  three  forms  of  government  competing  for  the  pat- 
ronage of  the  Church;  the  Independent,  the  Prelatic, 
and  the  Presbyterian.  The  first  is  like  the  head  with- 
out the  body;  for  it  is  fatal  to  the  unity  of  the  Church. 
The  second  is  like  a  body  without  a  head;  for  it  sub- 
stitutes the  human  Pontiff  for  the  divine  Head  of  the 
Church.  The  third  contemplates  the  head  and  his  body 
in  holy  and  happy  unity.  This  is  the  true  Historic  order. 
The  Episcopal  Church  claims  apostolic  succession;  we 
claim  patriarchal  succession.  When  the  angel  of  the 
Covenant  met  Moses  at  the  burning  bush  in  the  wil- 
derness, he  said,  "Go  down  into  Egypt  and  call  the 
elders,"  that  is,  constitute  the  Presbytery.  The  gov- 
ernment of  the  temple  was  prelatic;  but  that  was  abol- 
ished in  the  death  of  Christ.  The  government  of  the 
synagogue  was  Presbyterial;  it  was  continued  after 
our  Lord's  ascension,  and  was  the  connecting  link  be- 
tween the  old  and  new  economy.  The  New  Testa- 
ment Church  was  modeled  after  the  synagogue;  the 
apostles  "ordained  elders  in  every  city."  Paul  speaks 


CHURCH  UNITY.  309 


of  "the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  Presbytery.'* 
And  when  the  apostle  John  saw  the  future  glory  of  the 
redeemed  in  Paradise,  there  were  24  elders  sitting  on 
thrones  and  wearing  crowns;  they  have  the  Presbytery 
in  heaven. 

As  the  Presbytery  is  Scriptural,  so  it  is  historical.  It 
extends  from  Abraham  to  Paul,  from  Paul  to  Augus- 
tine, from  Augustine  to  Calvin,  from  Calvin  to  us. 
John  Calvin  was  the  first  to  gather  and  systematize  the 
facts  of  Scripture  respecting  the  government  of  the 
Church;  the  result  was  he  had  the  Presbyterian  system. 
John  Knox  was  banished  from  Scotland;  he  went  to 
Geneva  and  remained  with  Calvin  two  years;  and  he 
returned  to  Scotland  a  thorough  Presbyterian.  There 
were  six  Commissioners  from  Scotland  in  the  West- 
minster Assembly;  upon  them  depended  the  defense  of 
the  Presbyterian  system.  The  battle  was  joined  be- 
tween Erastinianism  and  Presbyterianism.  Selden, 
the  learned,  the  eloquent,  who  spent  his  life  in  pre- 
paring for  this  crisis,  arose,  and  in  an  impassioned 
address,  he  brought  to  bear  the  erudition,  the 
scholarship,  the  force  which  years  of  labor  had  accum- 
ulated, until  the  whole  Assembly  seemed  to  be  carried 
with  him.  While  his  speech  was  being  delivered,  a 
young  man  24  years  old  was  seen  writing  at  a  desk. 
They  supposed  he  was  taking  notes;  but  all  that  was 
found  on  the  paper  was,  "More  light,  O,  God,  more 
light."  This  was  Rev.  George  Gillespie,  one  of  the 
Scotch  Commissioners.  At  the  close  of  the  address 
some  one  said  to  him:  "George,  get  up  and  answer 
him."  He  arose  and  in  a  few  terse  sentences  stated 


310  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

the  arguments  of  his  opponent.  Then  he  planted  him- 
self upon  the  fact  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  King 
in  Zion,  and  he  alone  gives  her  officers  and  laws;  and 
then  by  a  simple,  clear  and  forcible  statement  of  the 
facts  recorded  in  the  Word,  he  carried  the  Assembly 
with  such  enthusiasm  that  the  Presbyterian  form  was 
almost  universally  adopted.  By  the  decision  of  this 
last  General  Council  we  will  abide  until  the  next  is 
called;  and  then  "the  one  unalterable  form  of  Church 
Government  will  be  made  universal. 

Denominationalism  is  to  the  Church  what  the  doc- 
trine of  State's  Rights  is  to  the  Nation.  We  recall  the 
celebrated  debate  between  Webster  and  Hayne  in  the 
United  States  Senate  in  1832.  Webster  solemnly 
warned  this  nation  that  if  the  doctrine  of  State's  Rights 
be  adopted,  it  meant  States  dissevered,  discordant,  bel- 
ligerent, a  land  rent  with  civil  feuds  and  drenched,  it  may 
be,  with  fraternal  blood.  In  the  light  of  the  Civil  War, 
when  his  words  were  verified,  what  a  wonderful  proph- 
ecy! The  Church  has  not  suffered  less  from  disunion. 
What  the  union  of  the  States  is  to  the  Nation,  that 
Church  Unity  is  to  the  Church;  and  for  this  Presbyter- 
ianism  provides.  The  Session  is  the  unit;  a  number 
of  Sessions  form  a  Presbytery;  a  number  of  Presby- 
teries form  a  Synod;  a  number  of  Synods  form  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  which  is  world-wide  in  its  jurisdiction, 
embracing  the  one  universal  Church.  Presbyterianism 
is  logical  and  symmetrical;  it  is  the  unique  and  uni- 
versal system  of  Church  Polity.  In  it  we  find  the  true 
historic  order. 


CHURCH  UNITY.  311 


III.  The  Church  is  one  in  her  Manner  of  Worship. 
The  finite  mind  is  not  competent  to  determine  what 
form  of  service  will  be  acceptable  to  an  Infinite  God. 
This  is  a  matter  of  Revelation.  Specific  directions 
were  given  as  to  the  construction  of  the  Tabernacle, 
the  Ark,  the  Altar,  and  their  utensils,  and  the  gar- 
ments of  the  priesthood;  and  the  charge  was  added: 
"See  that  ye  make  all  things  according  to  the  pattern 
shown  to  thee  in  the  mount. "  The  leading  mark  oi 
the  great  Apostacy  is:  "They  teach  for  doctrines  the 
commandments  of  men."  "They  change  laws." 
Augustine  said  that  in  God's  worship  it  "is  not  what 
you  say,  it  is  not  what  I  say,  but  it  is  what  God 
says. "  When  Martin  Luther  came  out  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  it  was  on  this  principle,  "We  must 
have  nothing  in  the  worship  of  God  except  what 
he  has  commanded."  "Rome  says  we  may  have  any- 
thing not  forbidden,  and  hence  their  corruptions  of  the 
worship.  There  must  be  a  'Thus  saith  the  Lord  for 
the  service  we  offer  to  him.'"  The  Westminster 
Assembly  declared:  "The  sins  forbidden  in  the  Second 
Commandment  are  the  worshiping  of  God  by  images, 
or  any  other  way  not  appointed  in  his  Word. " 

The  question  then  is,  What  has  God  appointed?  I 
answer:  Prayer,  praise,  the  reading  and  preaching  of 
the  Word,  and  the  sacraments  of  Baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper.  The  Reformed  Churches  are  sub- 
stantially agreed  as  to  prayer,  dispensing  the  word  and 
administering  the  sacraments.  As  to  the  praise  there 
is  a  difference  both  as  to  the  matter  and  manner. 
Touching  the  subject  matter,  the  question  is,  Shall  we 


312  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

use  an  inspired  psalmody  exclusively,  or  may  we  use 
hymns  of  human  composition?  What  did  the  West- 
minster Assembly  say?  "The  Old  Testament  Church 
used  an  inspired  psalmody  exclusively.  Christ  and 
his  disciples  used  the  Psalms  of  David.  'And  when 
they  had  sung  a  hymn  they  went  out,'  means  one  of 
the  great  Hallel,  probably  the  n6th  Psalm.  The 
Apostles  used  the  Psalms;  when  Paul  said,  'Singing 
and  admonishing  one  another  in  psalms  and  hymns 
and  spiritual  songs,'  he  meant  different  portions  of  the 
Book  of  Psalms.  And  James  said,  'Is  any  merry  let 
him  sing  psalms.'  The  service  of  praise,  therefore, 
consists  in  singing  the  Psalms  in  the  best  obtainable 
version."  By  this  decision  we  stand. 

We  are  pleased  to  note,  that  Professor  Briggs,  of 
Union  Theological  Seminary,  New  York,  in  his  recent 
book,  "Whither?"  on  page  51,  charges  the  Presby- 
terian Church  with  changing  the  Westminster  Directory 
in  the  matter  of  psalmody.  He  says:  "Another  is  the 
neglect  of  the  Psalms,  and  an  almost  exclusive  use  of 
the  hymns  in  our  churches.  The  older  hymn-books 
gave  the  entire  Psalter  by  itself;  but  the  majority  of 
our  modern  hymn-books  gave  only  a  portion  of  the 
Psalms,  and  these  are  buried  in  a  much  greater  number 
of  hymns,  and  they  are  seldom  used.  Many 
Presbyterian  churches  use  the  Psalter  for  responsive 
readings.  The  Psalter  ought  to  be  used  regularly  as 
an  essential  part  of  the  service  of  song.  I  see  no 
other  way  of  regaining  lost  ground  than  by  introducing 
the  chanting  of  Psalms  as  a  regular  part  of  our 
worship.  The  American  Presbyterian  Church  has 


CHURCH  UNITY.  313 


departed  so  far  from  the  Westminster  Directory  and 
its  own  Directory  in  this  matter  of  song  that  all 
uniformity  of  worship  has  disappeared.  The  present 
situation  is  abnormal  and  chaotic." 

There  is  a  place  for  uninspired  hymns,  for  religious 
poetry.  It  is  profitable  to  read  and  sing  them,  in  the 
home,  at  the  social  gatherings,  in  conventions,  in 
evangelistic  meetings  and  all  the  assemblies  where  the 
object  is  to  move  the  hearts  of  those  present.  "Moody 
preaches  the  gospel,  and  Sankey  sings  the  gospel," 
contains  this  principle  in  a  nut-shell.  But  in  the 
sanctuary,  where  God's  people  assemble  for  worship, 
the  words  indited  by  the  Spirit  of  God  are  the 
acceptable  offering.  "And  they  sang  praise  in  the 
words  of  David  and  of  Asaph  the  seer."  And  it  is 
our  confident  expectation  that  the  Reformed  Churches 
will  by  and  by  unite  in  preparing  such  aversion  of  the 
Psalms  as  all  will  accept  as  the  Manual  of  Praise. 

As  to  the  use  of  instruments  the  Assembly  said: 
"The  Old  Testament  Church  used  them;  but  that  was 
the  Church's  childhood.  The  Apostles  did  not  use 
them.  The  first  organ  was  made  in  the  eighth  century 
and  introduced  into  the  worship  as  a  part  of  the  cor- 
ruption of  the  Papacy.  The  service  of  praise  consists 
in  the  singing  of  Psalms  inspired  by  the  Spirit,  while 
the  Holy  Ghost  strikes  the  cords  of  the  heart  of  the 
worshiper.''  There  is  a  place  for  instrumental  music, 
in  the  home,  the  social  gathering,  political  conventions. 
In  these  they  are  desirable;  but  the  human  voice  is  the 
divinely  created  instrument  of  the  praises  of  God's 
house. 


314  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

IV.  The  Church  is  one  in  co-operative  effort.  A 
traveler  seated  on  one  of  the  pyramids  looking  out 
upon  the  valley  of  the  Nile,  saw  the  fields  of  grain,  all 
lying  four  square  and  separated  by  wide  spaces;  and 
as  he  looked  he  mused  thus.  "All  these  fields  have 
different  kinds  of  grain,  but  the  same  rich  valley  lies 
beneath  all;  so  I  look  out  upon  the  Christian  Church 
and  see  her  divided  into  sections,  and  yet  the  same 
rich  soil  of  orthodoxy  lies  beneath  all."  It  is  to  be 
admitted  that  these  divisions  in  the  Church  originated 
in  sin;  they  have  done  much  harm;  but  Providence 
has  used  them  for  his  own  glory.  And  we  know 
that  the  time  is  coming  when  "for  the  divisions  of 
Rueben  there  will  be  great  searchings  of  heart,"  when 
the  watchmen  on  Zion's  walls  shall  see  eye  to  eye,  and 
sing  together  with  one  voice,  when  "Ephraim  shall 
not  envy  Judah,  and  Judah  shall  not  vex  Ephraim," 
when  all  shall  have  "one  mind  and  one  mouth.''  The 
Reformed  Churches  have  each  their  vocation.  The 
Methodists  have  theirs  in  the  history  of  the  Church — 
to  arouse  those  at  ease  in  Zion,  to  rescue  the  perishing. 
The  Presbyterians  have  theirs — to  conserve  Calvinistic 
principles  and  prepare  souls  for  Heaven.  The  Cove- 
nanters have  their  vocation — to  keep  unfurled  that  old 
blue  banner,  "For  Christ's  Crown  and  Covenant." 
The  denominations  are  the  different  regiments  in  the 
army  of  the  Lord:  The  Methodists  are  the  charging 
cavalry  breaking  the  enemy's  lines.  The  Presbyterians 
are  the  solid  squares  of  the  infantry.  The  Covenanters 
are  the  battery  on  the  heights.  In  the  war  each 
regiment  carried  its  own  colors;  he  was  the  best 


CHURCH  UNITY.  315 


soldier,  who,  true  to  his  own  regimentals,  obeyed  the 
commands  of  the  general  in  chief.  He  is  the  best 
soldier  of  the  cross,  who,  true  to  his  own  denomination, 
obeys  the  Captain  of  our  salvation.  Let  the  divisions 
in  the  sacramental  host  cease  firing  at  each  other 
and  go  forward  as  one  united  phalanx  against  our 
common  foe,  and  victory  will  perch  upon  our 
banners.  Why  were  the  first  two  years  of  the 
war  a  failure?  Want  of  co-operation.  General 
Pope  would  not  co-operate  with  Fremont  in  the 
West;  General  M'Clellan  would  not  co-operate  with 
Halleck  in  the  East;  General  Meade  would  not 
co-operate  with  Rosecrans  in  the  centre.  And  so 
the  great  soul  of  Lincoln  mourned  over  the  sit- 
uation because  "nothing  could  be  done."  Why  is  it 
that  after  nearly  four  centuries  of  the  Reformation 
period  have  passed-,  so  small  a  part  of  Satan's  kingdom 
has  been  taken  for  Christ?  Want  of  co-operation. 
And  until  the  Churches  are  ready  to  stand  together 
for  Christ  and  humanity  the  world  will  not  believe. 
"That  they  all  may  be  one;  as  Thou,  Father,  art  in  me, 
and  I  in  Thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us;  that 
the  world  may  believe  that  Thou  hast  sent  me. " 

When  the  armies  of  Israel  marched  through  the 
wilderness  each  tribe  had  its  ensign:  "On  the  stand- 
ard of  Reuben  was  painted  or  carved  the  figure  of  a 
man;"  "the  badge  of  Judah  was  a  lion;"  "Ephraim 
was  represented  by  an  ox,"  and  "on  the  banner  of 
Dan  an  eagle  was  displayed."  "The  figures  on  these 
four  leading  standards  of  Israel  were  the  same  as  the 
four  faces  of  the  cherubim  which  Ezekiel  saw,  and  as 


316  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

the  four  living  creatures  supporting  the  throne  in  the 
apocalyptic  vision."  To-day  the  King  of  kings  is  mar- 
shalling his  hosts.  On  the  banner  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U. 
is  inscribed,  "Moral  suasion  for  the  liquor-drinker  and 
legal  suasion  for  the  liquor-seller."  On  the  standard 
of  the  American  Christian  Association  is  written,  "Let 
there  be  light."  The  National  Reform  Association 
carries  the  old  blue  banner,  "For  Christ's  Crown  and 
Covenant,"  and  the  Evangelical  Alliance  displays  the 
banner,  "We  are  one  in  Christ  Jesus."  Our  Immanuel 
is  leading  on  to  victory.  "They  shall  overcome  by  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb  and  by  the  word  of  their  testimony." 
Society  must  be  purified.  The  frauds  in  our  elections 
are  an  indication  of  the  corruption  of  the  American 
heart.  "There  is  something  rotten  in  Denmark." 
Truth  has  fallen  in  the  streets.  "Deceived  and  being 
deceived"  is  the  order  of  the  day.  "Othello,"  Shake- 
speare's  mighty  sermon  against  falsehood,  should  warn 
us  that  this  can  not  long  continue.  It  means  sure  de- 
struction. Falsehood  must  go  down,  and  truth  must 
reign. 

Bunyan,  in  his  "Holy  War,"  tells  us  of  the  fall  of 
the  city  of  Mansoul  before  Diabolus.  King  Immanuel 
sent  four  captains,  with  ten  thousand  each,  to  retake 
it.  Captain  Boanerges  had  Mr.  Thunder  for  his  en- 
sign; he  bore  the  black  colors,  and  his  escutcheon  was 
three  burning  thunderbolts.  Captain  Conviction's  en- 
sign's name  was  Mr.  Sorrow;  he  carried  the  pale  colors^ 
and  his  escutcheon  was  the  book  of  the  fiery  law. 
Captain  Judgment  had  Mr.  Terror  for  his  ensign;  he 
bore  the  red  colors,  and  his  escutcheon  was  a  burning,. 


CHURCH  UNITY.  317 


fiery  furnace.  Captain  Execution's  ensign  was  Mr. 
Justice;  he  also  bore  the  red  colors,  and  his  escutcheon 
was  "a  fruitless  tree,  with  an  axe  lying  at  the  root  there- 
of." They  laid  siege  to  Mansoul,  but  could  not  take  it. 
Then  they  sent  a  petition  to  King  Immanuel  to  send 
reinforcements.  So  he  sent  five  other  captains,  having 
their  several  ensigns  and  escutcheons,  and  ten  thousand 
each,  viz.:  Captain  Credence,  Captain  Goodhope, 
Captain  Charity,  Captain  Innocent,  and  Captain  Pa- 
tience. Immanuel  accompanied  them  in  person.  The 
enemies'  works  went  down  before  these  armies,  and  the 
King  of  kings  was  enthroned  in  Mansoul.  Satan  has 
usurped  authority  in  this  land.  Our  Redeemer  has 
sent  his  army  to  drive  him  out.  The  divisions  of  it 
are  Methodists,  Congregationalists,  Presbyterians,  Bap- 
tists, Episcopalians,  Covenanters,  etc.  They  were  un- 
able to  dislodge  him.  And  so  he  has  sent  reinforce- 
ments. They  are  the  National  Reform  Association, 
the  W.  C.  T.  U.,  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  the  Evangelical 
Alliance,  etc.  These  armies  are  marching  to  battle. 
The  "Captain  of  our  salvation"  orders  the  battle.  Soon 
"the  old  serpent"  will  be  cast  out  and  the  King  of 
kings  acknowledged  as  our  divinely  appointed  Ruler. 
"Kiss  the  Son." 

Five  churches  in  a  village,  where  there  is  room  for 
only  one,  representing  as  many  denominations,  and 
fighting  each  other  instead  of  trying  to  win  souls  to 
Christ,  is  a  monstrosity.  The  world  holds  it  in  con- 
tempt; the  blessing  of  God  does  not  reach  it.  Such 
wasting  of  the  Church's  forces  and  trampling  her  honor 
in  the  dust  must  cease.  This  "every  church  for  itself" 


318  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

principle  which  has  prevailed  in  our  cities  gives  to  the 
world  the  impression  that  the  churches  are  rivals  com- 
peting for  their  patronage.  No  wonder  they  do  not 
believe.  When  the  churches  work  together,  there  is 
trembling  in  Satan's  camp;  then  the  world  believes  in 
Christ.  The  National  Reform  Association,  the  W.  C. 
T.  U.,  the  American  Sabbath  Union,  and  the  Evan- 
gelical Alliance  are  teaching  the  Churches  a  lesson  in 
co-operation  in  moral  reforms;  and  by  and  by  each 
will  say  to  the  other,  "Let  there  be  no  strife  between 
me  and  thee,  for  we  are  brethren."  It  is  time  to  ex- 
change competition  for  co-operation. 

In  1861,  a  student  in  the  Indiana  State  University 
and  his  lady  love  planted  two  trees  side  by  side  in  the 
campus,  wrapped  them  about  each  other  and  fastened 
them  until  they  grew  together.  They  are  now  one 
great,  strong  tree.  Let  the  churches  be  thus  entwined 
about  each  other  and  they  will  be  a  power  which  all 
"  our  enemies  cannot  gainsay  nor  resist.  "  In  union  there 
is  strength.  One  shall  chase  a  thousand,  but  two  shall 
put  ten  thousand  to  flight.  Combination  increases 
strength  in  geometrical  ratio. 

V.  The  Church  is  one  in  her  Indwelling  Life.  When 
the  Holy  Spirit  was  poured  out  on  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost, the  thousands  added  to  the  Church  "continued 
steadfast  to  the  Apostles'  doctrine  and  fellowship,  and 
in  breaking  of  bread  and  in  prayers."  At  a  subsequent 
period,  under  a  renewed  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
the  "whole  multitude  of  them  that  believed  were  of 
one  heart  and  of  one  soul."  Christ  is  the  Head  and  we 
are  the  members  of  his  body;  the  life  in  Christ  is  in  his 


CHURCH  UNITY.  *        319 


people.  "I  am  crucified  with  Christ,  nevertheless  I 
live;  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me."  "As  a  body 
in  general  the  Church  is  an  organic  union  of  many 
members,  who  have  indeed  different  gifts  and  callings, 
yet  are  pervaded  by  the  same  life-blood,  ruled  by  the 
same  Head,  animated  by  the  same  soul,  all  working 
together  toward  the  same  end.  It  is  a  process  of  life 
which  springs  from  within,  from  the  vital  energy  im- 
planted in  the  Church  and  which  remains  in  all  its 
course,  identical  with  itself,  as  man  through  all  the 
stages  of  his  life  still  continues  a  man.  'Till  we  all 
come  in  the  unity  of  the  faith  and  of  the  knowledge  of 
the  Son  of  God,  unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure 
of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ.'  " — Prof.  Philip 
Sckaff,  D.  D. 

Conceive  of  an  immense  body  with  many  members, 
disposed  in  different  and  distant  p  aces,  and  yet  all  ani- 
mated by  the  same  Spirit  of  life,  and  you  have  the 
union  between  Christ  and  his  people:  Christ  the  Head 
in  heaven;  we  the  members  of  his  body  on  earth,  dis- 
tributed through  all  the  centuries,  yet  all  having  the 
life  of  Christ.  "He  that  is  joined  to  the  Lord  is  one 
spirit  with  him."  The  same  spirit  that  lives  in  me  lives 
in  my  Christian  brother  in  New  York  or  London;  the 
same  Spirit  that  lives  in  him  lives  in  my  Christian 
brother  in  Turkey,  China,  or  India.  "We  are  all  bap- 
tized into  one  body,  whether  we  be  Jews  or  Gentiles, 
and  have  all  been  made  to  drink  into  that  self-same 
Spirit."  There  is  no  schism  in  the  human  body;  all 
the  members  work  harmoniously  because  all  have  the 
same  spirit  of  life.  When  all  Christians  are  thoroughly 


320  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

imbued  with  the  Spirit  of  God  there  will  be  no  schism 
in  the  mystical  body  of  Christ.  The  spirit  of  life  in 
the  body  brings  all  the  members  into  healthy  co-oper- 
ation and  fit  the  man  for  eminent  service.  The  life  of 
Christ  in  his  people  brings  them  together  in  a  united 
effort  for  the  advancement  of  his  kingdom.  A  congre- 
gation in  the  Methodist  Church  was  troubled  with  a 
church  debt,  not  an  uncommon  decoration;  they  tried 
fairs,  entertainments  and  all  the  modern  inventions  for 
removing  it,  but  it  only  increased.  A  new  pastor  was 
sent;  a  meeting  of  the  officers  was  soon  called  and  the 
church  debt  came  up.  Deacon  A.  could  see  no  light; 
Deacon  B.  mourned  over  the  situation;  all  were  dis- 
tressed. At  last  they  appealed  to  the  pastor,  who  said, 
"I  have  a  plan,  a  very  simple  one;  but  I  do  not  think 
you  will  adopt  it."  "We  will  accept  it  if  possible;  please 
tell  us  what  it  is.  "  "Get  more  religion, "said  he.  There 
was  a  long  pause.  At  last  Deacon  A.  ventured,  "Is 
that  all?"  "That  is  all;  get  more  religion."  After  a 
long  pause  Deacon  A.  again  ventured,  "Well,  the  Lord 
knows  we  need  more  religion."  Deacon  B.  said.  "That 
is  my  case;"  and  they  all  made  a  like  confession.  The 
pastor  suggested  that  they  take  it  to  God.  They 
turned  the  business  meeting  into  a  prayer  meeting;  a 
a  revival  started;  it  spread  through  the  congregation; 
the  whole  community  was  stirred;  the  church  mem- 
bership was  doubled  and  the  debt  was  wiped  out.  Let 
the  Church  be  imbued  with  this  spirit,  and  she  will 
sweep  America  for  Christ,  she  will  take  all  nations  for 
the  King  of  kings.  Then  will  the  Saviour's  prayer  be 
an  accomplished  fact,  "That  they  all  may  be  one." 


CHURCH  UNITY.  321 


Then  will  the  Church  be  beautiful  as  Tirza,  comely  as 
Jerusalem,  and  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners.  The 
holy  oil  poured  on  the  head  of  the  high  priest,  de- 
scending to  the  skirts  of  his  garments,  prefigured  the 
anointing  of  Christ  with  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  in  him 
of  all  his  people.  This  Spirit  gives  life  as  the  dew  re- 
refreshes  the  fields.  David,  when  he  saw  Israel  gath- 
ered in  perfect  harmony  and  joy  on  festive  days,  and 
looking  to  the  day  when  all  peoples  would  become  one 
happy  family  in  Christ,  sang: 

"Behold  how  good  a  thing  it  is  and  how  becoming  well, 
Together  such  as  brethren  are  in  unity  to  dwell. 
Like  precious  ointment  on  the  head,  which  down  the  beard  did  flow, 
Even  Aaron's  beard  and  to  the  skirts  did  of  his  garments  go." 

"As  Hermon's  dew  the  dew  that  doth  on  Zion  hills  descend; 
For  there  the  blessing  God  commands,  life  that  shall  never  en'd." 

VI.  The  Churcty  is  one  in  her  Covenant  engagement. 
The  Church  is  a  Covenant  society.  At  Mount  Sinai 
the  Church  entered  into  a  solemn  public  Covenant 
with  God.  "All  that  the  Lord  hath  said,  will  we  do 
and  be  obedient."  The  prophet,  speaking  of  the 
New  Testament  times,  represents  believers  as  saying: 
"Come,  let  us  join  ourselves  to  the  Lord  in  a  Covenant 
that  shall  not  be  forgotten."  This  duty  was  exempli- 
fied by  the  Church  of  Scotland  in  swearing  the  National 
Covenant,  Feb.  28,  1638,  at  Grayfriar's  Church.  Six- 
teen thousand  Covenanters  gathered  that  day  and 
signed  the  parchment.  Some  wrote  after  their  names, 
"Till  Death,"  others  opened  veins  in  their  arms  and 
signed  their  names  with  their  own  blood.  Their 
emotions  were  irrepressible;  some  shouted,  others 


322  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

wept  aloud  for  joy.  Under  this  white  heat  of  enthu- 
siasm their  hearts  were  welded  together  to  endure  the 
shock  of  50  years'  conflict  with  the  Prelatic  power  that 
followed.  In  1871  the  R.  P.  Church  entered  into 
public  Covenant  with  God  to  maintain  the  crown  rights 
and  royal  perogatives  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  until 
America  bows  to  his  sceptre  and  all  nations  serve 
him.  Thus  they  prefigured  the  coming  day  when 
"One  shall  say,  I  am  the  Lord's;  and  another  shall 
call  himself  by  the  name  of  Jacob;  and  another  shall 
subscribe  with  his  hand  to  the  Lord,  and  surname 
himself  by  the  name  of  Israel." 

VII.  The  Church  is  one,  in  the  application  of  her 
testimony.  It  forbids  sinful  alliance  with  sinful  organ- 
izations, or  the  commission  of  sin  in  any  relation  in 
life.  It  reprobates  the  Masonic  order,  because  Christ 
must  be  left  outside  the  lodge,  and  immoral  oaths  are 
required.  It  repudiates  the  liquor  crime,  because  it  is 
the  devil's  business.  It  precludes  the  exercise  of  civil 
and  political  rights  where  sinful  obligations  are  involved. 
A  consistent  Christian  cannot  be  postmaster,  because 
he  must  swear  that  he  will  do  the  secular  work  of  the 
office  on  Sabbath  day,  and  there  is  no  more  harm  in 
plowing  in  the  field  on  Sabbath,  than  in  receiving? 
distributing,  and  giving  out  mail  matter  on  that  day* 
We  are  agreed  that  this  nation  has  dishonored  the 
King  of  kings,  and  his  loyal  people  must  wash  their 
hands  from  complicity  in  the  national  sin  by  unceasing 
efforts  to  bring  the  nation  to  repentance. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 


THE  CHURCH'S  GLORY. 

Yonder  on  the  northern  coast  of  Africa,  near  the 
middle  of  the  fourth  century,  appeared  one  of  the  great- 
est lights  of  the  Christian  era.  The  name  of  August- 
tine  is  the  synonym  for  orthodoxy,  Augustinanism  and 
Galvanism  being  used  interchangeably.  The  greatest 
work  of  his  life  was  written  in  the  beginning  of  the  fifth 
century  and  bears  the  title:  The  City  of  God.  With 
Rome  as  a  symbol  of  the  world-powers  and  Jerusalem  as 
the  emblem  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  he  presents  the 
rise,  growth,  conflict  and  triumph  of  the  Messianic 
reign.  The  key-note  of  that  work  is  found  in  the  words 
of  the  Psalmist:  "Glorious  things  are  spoken  of  thee, 
O  city  of  God." 

I.  Glorious  is  her  Founder.  Ancient  cities  boast  of 
their  eminent  ^founders;  Babylon  that  she  had  been 
founded  by  "Nimrod,  the  mighty  hunter  before  the 
Lord,"  Rome  that  she  had  been  founded  by  Romulus. 
But  the  Church  was  founded  by  Jehovah.  "Behold,  I 
lay  in  Zion  a  chief  corner-stone."  Babylon,  Ninevah 
and  other  ancient  cities  are  to-day  heaps  of  ruins. 
But  the  Church,  after  six  thousand  years  of  conflict 
with  the  powers  of  darkness,  is  stronger  than  ever  be- 
fore. "Upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my  church  and  all 
the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  her." 


324  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

II.  Glorious  in  the  peculiar  and  especial  and  gracious 
presence  of  God.  God  is  everywhere  present.  We  see 
him  as  he  balances  the  clouds  in  the  upper  heavens. 
He  thundereth  marvelously  with  his  voice.  He  causes 
grass  to  grow  for  cattle  and  herb  for  the  service  of  man. 
He  leads  forth  the  fleecy  vapors  in  white  flocks  along 
the  mountain  side,  heralding  the  coming  king  of  day,  di- 
rects his  course  through  the  heavens  and  prepares  the 
indescribable  glories  amid  which  he.  often  sinks  to  rest 
and  over  his  couch  draws  a  curtain  blue  and  purple 
and  scarlet,  more  beautiful  than  the  curtains  of  God's 
tabernacle  and  all  glorious  to  behold.  Retire  to  the 
the  most  dismal  spot  on  the  globe,  where  no  animal 
breathes  nor  plant  vegetates,  and  there  you  see  him 
in  the  eternal  snows  that  cover  it,  in  the  rocks  that 
rear  their  dark  pinnacles  to  the  skies,  and  in  the  waves 
that  lash  against  its  melancholy  shores.  Go  to  the 
wilderness  marked  by  no  human  foot-step,  and  there 
you  see  him  in  the  flowers  that  waste  their  sweetness 
on  the  desert  air,  for  all  things  live  and  move  and  have 
their  being  in  him.  We  see  him  as  he  marshals  the 
hosts  of  heaven  on  the  fields  of  light,  "stationing  the 
same  sentinel  star  that  guarded  the  throne  of  the  eter- 
nal north  when  God  spake  to  Job  out  of  the  whirlwind, 
and  ordering  all  their  complicated  movements  in  per- 
fect order  and  silent  harmony.  The  universe  is  a  mag- 
nificent temple  in  which  Jehovah  dwells.  The  divine 
inhabitant  fills  it  and  every  part  shines  with  his  glory. 
"Whither  shall  I  go  from  thy  presence?  If  I  ascend 
into  heaven,  thou  art  there.  If  I  make  my  bed  in  hell, 
thou  art  there.  If  I  take  the  wings  of  the  morning  and 


THE  CHURCH'S  GLORY.  * j  '    326 

fly  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea,  even  there  thou 
art.  If  I  say,  the  darkness  shall  hide  me,  the  darkness 
and  the  light  are  both  alike  to  thee.  "  God  is  omni- 
present. But  he  dwells  in  his  church  in  a  peculiar  and 
special  and  gracious  manner. 

When  Moses  had  completed  the  tabernacle  in  the 
wilderness  the  cloud  descended,  and  Moses  could  not 
enter  because  of  the  cloud,  for  the  glory  of  the  Lord 
filled  the  tabernacle.  When  Solomon  had  offered  his 
prayer  at  the  dedication  of  the  temple,  the  cloud 
entered,  and  the  priests  could  not  stand  to  minister 
because  of  the  cloud,  for  the  glory  of  the  Lord  had 
filled  the  house.  And  God  said:  "I  have  hallowed 
this  house  that  thou  has  built  to  put  my  name  therein 
forever,  and  mine  eyes  and  mine  heart  shall  be  there 
perpetually."  This  is  the  key  to  the  grand  vision  of 
Isaiah  when  he  saw  "the  Lord  high  and  lifted  up  and 
his  train  filled  the  temple,  and  above  it  stood  the 
seraphim,  each  one  having  six  wings;  with  twain  he 
covered  his  face,  with  twain  he  covered  his  feet,  and 
with  twain  he  did  fly,  and  one  cried  to  another  and 
said,  holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord  God  of  hosts,  the  whole 
earth  is  full  of  thy  glory;  and  the  posts  of  the  doors 
moved  at  the  voice  of  him  that  speake,  and  the  house 
was  filled  with  smoke."  This  temple  was  a  type  of 
the  Church  and  the  cloud  a  symbol  of  God's  presence. 
"Ye  are  built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and 
prophets,  Jesus  Christ  the  chief  corner-stone,  in  whom 
all  the  building  fitly  framed  together  groweth  up  into 
an  holy  temple  in  the  Lord,  in  whom  ye  are  also 
builded  together  for  an  habitation  of  God  through 


326  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

the  spirit."  Not  in  Jerusalem's  proud  temple,  but 
wherever  the  believer  is,  God  dwells.  "Jehovah- 
shamma,"  the  Lord  hath  been  there,  may  be  found 
written  on  many  a  cottage  hearthstone,  in  the  cata- 
combs of  Rome  and  Cairo  and  Paris,  in  the  moorlands 
of  Scotland,  and  in  every  house  where  he  is  worshiped. 
"Thus  saith  the  high  and  lofty  One  who  inhabiteth 
eternity,  whose  name  is  holy,  I  dwell  in  the  high  and 
holy  place,  with  him  also  that  is  of  an  humble  and 
contrite  Jieart,  to  revive  the  spirit  of  the  humble  and 
to  revive  the  heart  of  the  contrite  one."  You  have 
read  John  Bunyan's  "Holy  War."  You  remember  his 
graphic  description  of  the  decisive  conflict  between 
the  citizens  of  Mansoul,  and  the  followers  of  Diabolus. 
During  the  long  day  the  field  was  hotly  contested. 
In  the  evening  Immanuel  was  seen  coming  with  fresh 
reinforcements,  trumpets  sounding,  colors  flying  and 
the  feet  of  his  men  scarcely  touching  the  ground,  they 
came  with  such  speed.  Victory  followed.  Then  the 
citizens  of  Mansoul  shouted:  "Lift  up  your  heads,  O 
ye  gates,  and  be  ye  lifted  up,  ye  everlasting  doors, 
and  the  King  of  glory  shall  come  in!"  Immanuel 
entered  riding  in  His  chariot  of  salvation,  the  streets 
were  strewn  with  lilies  and  flowers,  the  houses  were 
illuminated  and  the  enraptured  citizens  shouted, 
"Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord." 
So  he  entered  the  palace,  ascended  the  throne  and 
reigned.  The  city  of  Mansoul  is  the  believing  heart. 
Immanuel  is  Christ.  Christ  dwells  in  the  believing 
heart.  Ignatius  is  supposed  to  have  been  one  of  the 
children  whom  Jesus  took  up  in  his  arms.  He  suffered 


THE  CHURCH'S  GLOR\.  327 

martyrdom  in  107  A.  D.  In  his  zeal  he  used  to  exclaim : 
"I  am  a  bearer  of  God."  This  language  was  reported 
to  the  Christian-hating  Trajan,  the  emperor  then 
reigning.  Trajan  ordered  him  immediately  to  trial. 
As  Ignatius  entered  the  court,  Trajan  exclaimed: 
"Who  is  this  that  styles  himself  a  bearer  of  God?" 
"I  am  he,"  responded  Ignatius,  "and  according  to  the 
Scriptures,  'I  will  dwell  in  them  and  will  walk  in  them, 
and  they  shall  be  my  sons  and  daughters,  saith  the 
Lord  Almighty.'  '  "You  shall  be  devoured  by  the 
lions,"  exclaimed  the  enraged  monarch.  And  then  he 
began  leaping  and  dancing,  exclaiming:  "I  am  to  be 
devoured,  I  am  to  be  devoured,  I  am  going  to  Christ." 
That  single  soul  was  a  temple  of  God. 

The  Lord  appeared  to  Thomas  Aquinas  in  a  dream 
and  asked  him  saying,  "Thou  hast  written  much  and 
well  concerning  me,  what  shall  I  give  thee?"  "Nothing 
but  thyself,  dear  Lord,"  was  his  reply. 

To  love  Christ  signifies  to  delight  in  his  excellency 
and  to  desire  to  please  him.  There  are  several  marks 
by  which  it  may  be  known. 

1.  The    thought    of    Christ    is    the    predominating 
thought  in  the  believing  mind.     There  are  times  when 
he  does  not  think  of  Christ;  while  his  mind  is  occu- 
pied with  business  he  is  not  conscious  of  the  presence 
of  the  thought  of  Christ;  but  as  soon  as  the  mind  is 
released  the  thought  of  Christ  comes  to  the  surface, 
just  as  a  cork  held  under  the  water  will  rise  to  the  top 
when  let  loose.      "I  sleep,  but  my  heart  waketh." 

2.  The  believer  delights  in  the  word  of  Christ.    "His 
lips  are  like  lilies  dropping  with  sweet-smelling  myrrh." 


REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 


"O  how  I  love  thy  law;  it  is  my  study  all  the  day." 

3.  He  loves  Christ's  children.     As  it  is  unnatural  for 
a  son  to  hate  his  brothers  and  sisters,  so  it  is  unchris- 
tian for  a  professed   follower  of  Christ  to  dislike  the 
children  of  the  covenant.     "If  a  man  says  I  love  God, 
and  hateth  his  brother,  he  is  a  liar;  for  he  that  loveth 
not  his  brother  whom  he  hath  seen,  how  can  he  love 
God  whom  he  hath  not  seen?     And    this  command- 
ment we  have  from  him,  that  he  that  loveth  God,  love 
his  brother  also." 

4.  He  seeks  frequent  communion  with  Christ.    "  Like 
as  the  hart  panteth  after  the  water  brooks,  so  panteth 
my  soul  after  thee,  O  God." 

5.  He  is  drawn  to  Christ  by  an  irresistible  impulse. 
"The  love  of   Christ  constraineth  me."     "For  me  to 
live  is  Christ."     "Entreat  me  not  to  leave  thee,  nor  to 
turn  back  from  following  after  thee. " 

6.  He  is  jealous  for  the  honor  of  Christ.      It  pains 
him  to  see  Christ  dishonored. 

7.  He  strives  to  obey  all  Christ's  commands.     "Ye 
are  my  friends,  if  ye  do  whatsoever  I  command  you." 
"Oh  that  my  ways  were  directed  to  keep  thy  statutes; 
then  shall  I  not  be  ashamed  when  I  have  respect  to  all 
thy  commandments." 

8.  He  makes  an  entire  consecration  to  Christ.    "Thine 
are  we,  David,"  consecration  to  Christ's  person;  "and 
on  thy  side,  thou  son  of  Jesse,"  consecration  to  Christ's 
cause.     All  that  I  am,  all  that  I   have,  and   all   that   I 
can  be  are  devoted  to  him. 

9.  He  patiently  endures  all  trials.     He  regards  them 
as  coming  from  the  hand  of  his  Father:     "Whom  the 


THE  CHURCH'S  GLORY.  329 

Lord  loveth  he  chasteneth.  What  son  is  he  whom  the 
Father  chasteneth  not."  They  are  a  blessing  to  him. 
"No  chastisement  for  the  present  seemeth  to  be  joy- 
ous, but  grievous;  nevertheless,  it  worketh  the  peace- 
able fruits  of  righteousness  in  them  that  are  exercised 
thereby."  As  he  participates  with  Christ  in  suffering 
here,  so  he  will  share  with  him  in  glory  hereafter. 

"Beloved,  think  it  not  strange  concerning  the  fiery 
trial  that  is  to  try  you,  as  though  some  strange  thing 
had  happened  unto  you,  but  rather  rejoice,  inasmuch 
as  ye  are  partakers  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  that 
when  his  glory  shall  be  revealed,  ye  may  be  glad  also, 
with  exceeding  joy."  The  reward  is  great.  "These 
light  afflictions,  which  are  but  for  a  moment,  will  work 
out  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of 
glory."  The  affliction  is  light,  the  glory  is  a  weight. 
The  affliction  is  temporary,  the  glory  is  eternal.  So 
he  looks  up  and  says,  "Lord,  what  thou  wilt  and  when 
thou  wilt  and  how  thou  wilt."  "Though  he  slay  me, 
yet  will  I  trust  in  him." 

Mrs.  Allison,  the  missionary  among  the  Bohemians 
in  Chicago,  gave  us  a  sketch  of  her  two  years'  exper- 
ience in  that  work.  After  attending  the  training  school 
of  the  Home  Mission^  Board  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  she 
went  to  the  Bohemians.  She  had  no  liking  for  them, 
but  went  simply  because  she  was  sent.  The  Sabbath 
school  was  held  in  a  long,  narrow,  low,  smoky  room, 
separated  by  a  thin  partition  from  a  saloon.  The  sa- 
loon was  crowded  with  noisy,  drinking  men.  The  Bo- 
hemians universally  drink.  Even  little  ones  are  taught 
the  drink  habit.  The  room  was  filled  with  boys  and 


330  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

girls,  dirty,  ragged,  the  boys  smoking  and  fighting, 
the  girls  pinching  and  pulling  each  other's  hair.  She 
thought  nothing  could  be  done  there.  And  people 
generally  think  that  Bohemians  are  not  worth  trying  to 
save.  "Oh,  they  are  only  Bohemians,"  is  a  common 
phrase.  The  superintendent  offered  her  a  class  of 
boys.  No,  she  did  not  want  boys.  Give  me  a  class 
of  girls.  But  something  checked  her.  Shortly  before 
she  had  lost  her  only  son,  Frank,  a  precious  boy,  so 
gentle  and  kind,  the  very  opposite  of  these  boys.  So 
she  said  to  the  superintendent,  "I  believe  I  will  take  a 
class  of  boys."  And  when  placed  before  them  she 
began  taking  their  names,  and  the  first  boy's  name  was 

Frank ,  the  second  name  was  Frank,   too,   and  so 

on  until  she  had  eighteen  Franks.  She  could  hold  up 
no  longer  and  began  crying.  The  superintendent, 
thinking  the  boys  had  been  rude,  came  and  asked  the 
cause. 

"Have  the  boys  been  ugly?" 

"Oh,  no;  the  boys  behave  all  right,  but  their  names 
are  all  Frank,  and  my  little  boy  who  died  was  named. 
Frank." 

"Well,"  said  he,  "my  name  is  Frank,  too.  That  is 
a  common  name  among  us." 

From  that  moment  she  took  her  class  of  Franks  into 
her  heart,  and  ever  since  her  only  true  happiness  is  in 
teaching  the  Bohemians.  At  first  she  could  not  get 
access  into  their  homes,  if  such  they  can  be  called. 
They  live  in  filth  and  squalor,  sometimes  twelve  in  a 
single  room,  where  common  decencies  of  life  cannot 
be  observed.  When  the  door  was  opened  to  her  the 


THE  CHURCH'S  GLORY.  ^         331 

mother  would  say^  "We  no  speak  English,"  and  shut 
the  door  in  her  face.  But  she  learned  a  few  sentences 
of  Bohemian,  and  although  she  made  mistakes  in  pro- 
nouncing them,  they  would  laugh  at  her  and  invite  her 
in.  Now  she  visits  their  homes  daily,  reading  the  Bible 
pointing  them  to  Jesus.  They  are  all  nominal  Catho- 
lics. It  is  characteristic  of  their  race  to  be  set  in  their 
ways  They  live  behind  a  thick  crust  of  ignorance, 
prejudice  and  superstition.  They  have  soft  hearts 
underneath  and  when  you  once  reach  them  they  are 
true  as  steel. 

One  of  the  Franks  was  forbidden  to  come  to  the 
school.  But  he  was  converted  ancj  just  as  strong  in 
in  his  Protestantism  as  his  parents  in  their  Catholicism. 
His  mother  tried  to  starve  him  into  terms.  He  worked 
in  a  factory  seven  miles  away,  and  walked  to  and  from 
it  every  night  and  morning.  His  parents  collected 
every  cent  of  his  wages,  and  this  is  their  usual  way. 
His  mother  only  gave  him  a  dry  crust  for  breakfast 
and  no  dinner.  The  boy  fainted  at  his  work,  and  his 
teacher  happened  to  be  at  the  factory  at  the  time.  He 
told  her  his  trouble.  Meal  tickets  were  procured  for 
him  at  once.  Mrs.  Allison  went  immediately  to  his 
mother  and  told  her  what  had  occurred,  and  that  she 
was  starving  her  son.  The  mother  prepared  a  good 
supper  for  him,  but  he  said: 

"I  am  not  hungry,  I  have  had  my  supper." 

"Where  did  you  get  it?" 

"I  prayed  to  God,  and  he  fed  me." 

Another  of  her  Franks  was  poorly  dressed.  His 
employers  told  him  he  must  have  better  clothes  or  they 


332  RE  FORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

would  discharge  him.  He  had  no  money.  His  parents 
collected  his  wages.  What  could  he  do?  He  went  to 
God  in  prayer.  The  next  day  a  letter  was  handed 
him  containing  nine  dollars  and"  a  note  which  read: 
"Please  accept  this  from  a  sister  in  Christ."  He  took 
it  to  his  teacher.  He  did  not  think  he  ought  to  keep 
it,  as  he  had  not  earned  it. " 

"But,"  she  said,  "Did  you  not  tell  me  that  God 
knows  that  you  need  better  clothes?" 

"Yes,  God  knows  it,  but  how  did  the  sister  find  it 
out?" 

The  mission  grew  and  prospered.  The  saloon  keeper 
thought  it  was  injuring  his  business  and  ordered  them 
to  vacate  that  room.  They  are  now  trying  to  raise 
funds  to  build  a  mission  house.  The  lot  has  been  do- 
nated. Her  class  has  raised  $70  and  proposes  raising 
$100.  A  class  of  girls  has  raised  $30. 

This  is  the  work  that  will  save  our  nation.  Let  the 
Bohemians  be  made  Christians;  the  Africans,  the  Chi- 
nese, the  Germans,  the  Italians,  all  be  Christianized, 
and  then  we  will  be  one  great,  grand  Christian  nation. 

The  believer  ever  lives  in  self-nourishing  fellowship 
with  God.  When  you  pass  a  house  and  see  the  shutters 
closed,  the  doors  closed,  the  gates  closed,  no  children 
playing  in  the  yard,  no  smoke  rising  from  the  chimney, 
you  say,  the  master  is  away.  How  do  you  know? 
Did  you  go  and  enquire?  No.  You  know  by  the 
evidence.  When  you  pass  that  same  house  another 
day,  and  see  the  door  standing  ajar,  the  shutters  open, 
the  smoke  curling  up  from  the  chimney,  and  the 
children  playing  in  the  yard,  you  say  the  master  is  at 


THE  CHURCfTS  GLORY.  ,       333 

home  now.  Did  you  go  and  see?  No.  Did  you 
enquire?  No.  How  do  you  know?  "I  know  by  the 
evidence."  So  when  you  see  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  in  the 
heart  and  life,  then  you  know  that  the  Spirit  has  taken 
up  his  abode.  Where  love,  peace,  joy,  long  suffering, 
patience,  meekness  and  faith  are  found,  there  the 
Spirit  dwells.  "Hereby  we  know  that  he  dwelleth  in 
us,  by  his  Spirit  that  he  hath  given  us."  But  the 
Spirit  not  only  dwells  in  each  individual  believer's 
heart,  he  also  dwells  in  the  Church  as  Christ's  organ- 
ized body.  "Where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together 
in  my  name  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them."  The 
Apostle  John  saw  Jesus  walking  in  the  midst  of  the 
seven  golden  candlesticks,  trimming  and  feeding  them 
with  the  oil  of  grace.  Christ  ever  dwells  in  the  midst 
of  his  living  temple,  built  up  of  lively  spiritual  stones. 
The  true  view  is  this.  Each  individual  believer  is  a 
temple  in  which  the  Spirit  dwells.  A  number  of 
individuals  viewed  together  form  a  congregational 
temple  in  which  the  Spirit  dwells.  A  number  of 
denominations  viewed  together  form  a  national  temple, 
in  which  the  Spirit  dwells.  All  the  national  temples 
viewed  together  form  the  world's  great  temple  of  the 
true  Catholic  Church,  beautiful,  and  grand,  and 
glorious,  the  joy  of  the  whole  earth. 

III.  Glorious  in  the  extent  of  her  mission.  Ancient 
cities  regarded  it  as  their  mission  to  conquer  other 
cities.  Babylon  ruled  127  provinces.  Rome,  by  the 
conquests  of  the  Caesars,  became  the  mistress  of  the 
world.  When  De  Toqueville  wrote  in  1848  not  more 
than  one  in  twenty  of  our  population  were  in  cities. 


334  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

Now  one  in  four  are  in  cities  of  the  first  and  second 
class.  The  cities  are  being  carried  into  the  country 
until  there  are  no  rural  districts.  We  are  fast  becom- 
ing one  vast  municipality.  The  mission  of  the  Church 
is  to  make  the  world  one  great  Christian  city.  The 
Savior  gave  the  commission:  "Go  ye  into  all  the 
world."  It  is  only  at  a  comparatively  recent  date  the 
Church  has  come  to  appreciate  the  extent  of  her 
mission.  Luther  called  for  missionaries  to  the  "Pagans 
and  the  Turks"  but  no  response  was  made.  In  1792 
William  Carey  was  rebuked  when  he  stood  up  in  a 
Council  in  England  and  plead  the  cause  of  missions. 
An  aged  elder  said:  "Young  man,  you  sit  down;  when 
God  pleases  to  convert  the  heathen  he  will  do  it 
without  you  or  me."  But  the  society  was  organized 
that  sent  Carey  to  India;  there  are  25  societies  now 
on  the  British  Isles.  In  the  beginning  of  this  century 
a  German  professor  apologized  for  sending  a  mission- 
ary to  East  Friseland.  But  there  are  35  societies  on  the 
Continent  to-day.  When  the  American  Board  peti- 
tioned the  Massachusetts  Legislature  for  a  charter  in 
1810  they  met  with  opposition.  A  member  said:  "We 
have  no  religion  to  spare.  "  But  the  charter  was  granted 
and  now  we  have  25  societies  at  work.  In  the  beginning 
of  this  century  there  were  not  10  missionary  societies 
in  all  Christendom.  Now  there  are  more  than  100. 
Then  there  were  not  200  ordained'  missionaries  in  the 
field.  Now  there  are  3,000  ordained  missionaries,  an 
army  of  30,000  helpers,  12,000  schools  with  400,000 
pupils,  and  3,000,000  native  converts,  and  the  Bible  is 
translated  into  360  different  languages.  Not  more 


THE  CHURCH'S  GLORY.  ^      335 

than  $250,000  annually  were  contributed  to  missions 
then;  last  year  $15,000,000  were  given.  At  the 
beginning  of  this  century  the  work  was  a  little  stream- 
let. Now  it  is  a  broad  and  deepening  river,  carrying 
us  on  to  the  ocean  of  universal  triumph. 

When  Carey  entered  India  in  1/93  he  found  the 
people  steeped  in  idolatry,  fossilized  in  their  system  of 
caste  for  thirty  centuries,  and  so  degraded  that  Dean 
Shiller  exclaimed,  "Where  in  all  the  world  can  you 
find  such  a  Satan's  burgh  as  India!"  But  to-day  there 
are  more  than  100,000  native  converts  and  thirty  socie- 
ties at  work  in  the  field.  Dr.  Morris  entered  China  in 
1807.  To-day  there  are  50,000  Chinese  communicants 
and  forty  societies  on  the  ground.  Dr.  Moffit  entered 
South  Africa.  With  their  fetish  worship  and  their 
cannibalistic  practices,  the  people  were  scarcely  re- 
garded as  human,  and  the  Dutch  settlers  excluded 
them  from  their  houses  of  worship  with  this  sign  over 
the  door:  "Dogs  and  Hottentots  not  admitted."  He 
wrought  fifty-two  years  in  person.  Livingstone  and 
Stanley  have  carried  the  torch  of  civilization  to  the 
heart  of  the  Dark  Continent.  "Ethiopia  is  stretching 
cut  her  hand  to  God." 

The  Church  has  the  means  at  her  command  to  place 
the  Bible  in  the  hands  of  every  man,  woman  and  child 
in  their  own  language,  within  the  present  century.  The 
ability  involves  the  obligation.  The  Church  has  the 
facilities  for  preaching  the  gospel  many  times  to  every 
human  being  in  his  own  tongue  within  the  present  gen- 
eration. The  ability  involves  the  obligation.  Let  the 
Church  arise  and  put  on  her  strength! 


336  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

IV.  Glorious  in  her  protection.  The  cities  in  old 
time,  Rome  and  Babylon  and  Tyre  and  Jerusalem, 
were  surrounded  by  great  and  high  walls  for  protec- 
tion. So  God  has  surrounded  his  Church  by  impreg- 
nable walls  of  defence.  "Salvation  will  God  appoint 
for  walls  and  bulwarks."  When  David  looked  around 
about  and  saw  the  Amorites,  the  Perizzites,  the  Hivites, 
the  Jebusites,  the  Medes,  the  Persians,  the  Egyptians 
and  the  Ethiopians,  all  thirsting  for  the  blood  of  God's 
people,  all  banding  together  that  they  might  sweep 
away  the  Israel  of  God,  and  yet  they  lived  and  pros- 
pered, he  broke  out  in  this  triumphant  language: 

"They  in  the  Lord  that  firmly  trust,  shall  be  like  Zion  Hill, 
Which  at  no  time  can  be  removed,  but  standeth  ever  still. 
As  round  about  Jerusalem  the  mountains  stand  alway, 
The  Lord  his  folk  doth  compass  so,  from  henceforth  and  for  aye." 

For  the  last  six  thousand  years  Satan  has  been  dash- 
ing wave  after  wave  against  these  walls,  but  as  vainly 
as  the  wind-swept  waves  when  they  lash  their  foam 
against  the  unyielding  rock.  In  the  days  of  Elijah 
such  a  great  wave  was  rolled  up  that  after  the  shock 
the  prophet  thought  himself  alone  as  the  representa- 
tive of  the  faithful.  But  God  had  reserved  for  himself 
seven  thousand  who  had  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal. 
Another  great  wave  was  rolled  up  when  that  great 
army  of  Sennacherib  besieged  Jerusalem;  but  the 
destroying  angel  went  out,  and  in  the  morning  one 
hundred  and  eighty-five  thousand  were  slain.  Wave 
after  wave  of  error,  the  flood  of  water  from  the  Devil's 
mouth,  broke  upon  the  walls  of  the  early  Church. 
First  came  that  great  wave  of  Gnosticism,  a  wild  and 


THE  CHURCH'S  GLORY.  337 

extravagant  compound  of  Oriental  theosophy,  Greek 
philosophy  and  Christian  ideas;  but  while  it  bore 
down  multitudes  who  were  of  the  world,  it  broke 
harmless  upon  the  Church's  foundation.  Then  came 
that  great  wave  of  Manicheism,  with  its  Persian  dual- 
ism, the  eternal  conflict  of  mind  and  matter,  of  good 
and  evil;  and  though  it  carried  down  vast  numbers 
who  belonged  to  Satan,  it  fell  harmless  at  the  base  of 
the  Church's  walls,  which  were  firm  as  mountains  of 
brass.  "All  the  gates  of  hell  could  not  prevail  against 
her."  The  next  wave  was  more  formidable.  The  great 
Roman  Pagan  empire,  animated  by  Satan  himself, 
came  down  upon  her  like  a  thundering  avalanche,  but 
she  shook  off  the  stupendous  load  as  a  man  shakes  off 
the  snow-flakes  from  his  garments.  For  three  centu- 
ries great  imperial  Rome  cried:  "  Christianas  ad 
leones!"  For  three  centuries  the  brutal  Coliseum  de- 
voured Christ's  freemen.  For  three  centuries  the 
stake,  the  scaffold  and  the  block  were  busy  day  and 
night  despatching  God's  children.  For  three  centuries 
the  horrors  of  the  cross  tried  God's  saints.  But  Rome 
Pagan  went  down  and  Christianity  ascended  the  throne 
of  the  Caesars.  The  wave  broke  harmless  at  the  base 
of  the  Church's  walls.  The  next  wave  that  rolled  up 
was  the  Papacy.  For  ten  centuries  she  practiced  the 
horrors  of  the  Inquisition.  For  ten  centuries  she 
chased  the  saints  like  hunted  deer  among  the  Alps  and 
through  the  low  countries,  uuntil  every  mountain  be- 
came a  monument,  every  valley  saw  executions,  and 
every  village  had  its  roll  of  martyrs."  For  ten  cen- 
turies she  soaked  the  sods  of  all  Europe  with  the  blood 


338  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

of  God's  people  and  strewed  the  mountains  and  valleys 
with  their  bones.  But  this  great  wave  broke  and  fell 
harmless  at  the  base  of  the  walls.  In  the  First  Reforma- 
tion, Martin  Luther  gave  the  "beast  with  seven  heads 
and  ten  horns"  a  wound  unto  death,  and  the  Kingdom 
started  on  a  new  career.  In  Scotland,  the  wave  of 
Prelacy  raged  for  fifty  years;  the  Cameronian  Cove- 
nanters were  like  a  rock,  upon  which  the  wave  was 
broken. 

"The  mountains  of  Scotland,  that  are  hallowed  with 
the  prayers,  the  fasts,  and  the  martyrdom  of  the  right- 
eous; her  dungeons  that  witnessed  the  sighs,  the  tears 
and  wrestling  of  the  righteous  in  behalf  of  a  persecuted 
church  and  a  covenanted  land;  the  rocky  islands  of  the 
sea  where  they  were  doomed  to  languish  in  tribulation 
for  the  word  of  God  and  for  testimony  of  Jesus  Christ; 
the  friendly  retreats  of  foreign  lands  to  which  they 
fled  for  shelter  and  from  which  their  prayerful  sympa- 
thies and  tears  were  wafted  homeward  by  the  winds  of 
heaven;  the  sandy  sea-beach,  whose  rising  tide  closed 
its  unconscious  waters  over  the  struggling,  stake-bound 
members  of  Christ's  mystical  body;  and  the  places  of 
public  thoroughfare  where  the  heads  of  a  Guthrie,  a 
Cameron  and  a  Warriston  withered  in  the  winds,  and 
where  the  warm  and  quivering  heart  of  the  valiant 
Hackston  was  exhibited  with  derision  upon  the  point 
of  the  executioner's  knife,  a  spectacle  to  the  world,  and 
to  angels  and  to  men" — these  are  all  ready  to  give 
the  most  convincing  testimony  to  the  fact  that  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  implanted  in  the  Church  an  im- 
perishable life,  against  which  the  utmost  power  of  men 


THE  CHURCH'S  GLORY.  „         339 

may  rage  and  dash  themselves  as  vainly  as  do  the  wind- 
swept waves  when  they  lash  their  foam  against  the 
unyielding  rocks.  "The  blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the 
seed  of  the  Church.  "  The  blood  of  every  martyr,  from 
that  of  John  Huss,  the  forerunner  of  the  First  Reform- 
ation, to  that  of  James  Renwick,  Scotland's  last  and 
youthful  martyr,  only  served  to  cement  more  firmly 
the  walls  of  our  beloved  Zion.  The  more  she  was 
afflicted,  the  more  she  grew,  while  the  arrows  which  her 
enemies  shot  at  her  entered  their  own  hearts. 

To-day  the  double  wave  of  Romanism  and  Commu- 
nism is  rolling  up  against  Zion's  walls.  The  first  means 
"the  Dark  Ages.  "  The  second  means  '  'the  abolition  of 
the  family,  the  abolition  of  the  State,  the  abolition  of 
the  Church,  the  abolition  of  the  inheritance. "  Infi- 
delity is  the  master-spirit.  But  these  two  swelling 
waves  will  soon  be  broken.  ''Whosoever  shall  fall 
upon  this  rock  shall  be  broken. "  The  highest  possible 
point  .to  which  this  flood  can  reach  is  "even  unto  the 
neck."  It  can  never  reach  the  Church's  head.  And 
while  the  head  is  above  water  the  body  is  safe.  Cour- 
age, then,  the  day  is  dawning.  The  cords  of  Zion  are 
being  lengthened  and  her  stakes  strengthened.  Soon 
he  whose  right  it  is  to  reign  will  take  to  himself  his 
great  power.  Soon  the  angel  will  fly  forth  in  the  midst 
of  heaven,  proclaiming:  "The  sovereignty  of  this 
world  has  become  the  sovereignty  of  our  Lord  and  of 
his  Christ."  Then  will  the  language  of  Pope  be  real- 
ized when  he  said: 

"Rise  crown'd  with  light,  imperial  Salem,  rise, 
Exalt  thy  tow'ring  head,  and  lift  thine  eyes ! 


340  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

See  a  long  race  thy  spacious  courts  adorn; 

See  future  sons  and  daughters,  yet  unborn, 

In  crowding  ranks  on  every  side  arise, 

Demanding  life,  impatient  for  the  skies  ! 

See  barbarous  nations  at  thy  gates  attend, 

Walk  in  the  light,  and  in  thy  temple  bend; 

See  thy  bright  altars  throng'd  with  prostrate  kings, 

And  heap'd  with  products  of  Sabean  springs ! 

For  thee  Idume's  spicy  forests  blow, 

And  seeds  of  gold  in  Ophir's  mountains  glow. 

See  heaven  its  sparkling  portals  wide  display, 

And  break  upon  thee  in  a  flood  of  day ! 

No  more  the  rising  sun  shall  gild  the  morn, 

Nor  evening  Cynthia  fill  her  silver  horn; 

But  lost,  dissolved  in  thy  superior  rays, 

One  tide  of  glory,  one  unclouded  blaze 

O'erflows  thy  courts:  the  Light  himself  shall  shine 

Reveal'd,  and  God's  eternal  day  be  thine ! 

The  seas  shall  waste,  the  skies  in  smoke  decay, 

Rocks  fall  to  dust,  and  mountains  melt  away; 

But  fix'd  his  word,  his  saving  power  remains; 

Thy  realm  forever  lasts  thine  own  Messiah  reigns!" 


CHAPTER   XIX. 


CHILIASM. 

No  one  familiar  with  the  writings  of  the  New 
Testament,  and  especially  with  the  writings  of  the 
Apostolic  and  Ante-Nicene  Fathers  can  be  unacquaint- 
ed with  the  frequency,  force  and  fervor  of  the 
references  to  the  second  coming  of  Christ,  which  they 
contain.  One  verse  in  every  twenty-five,  or  about 
300  verses  of  the  New  Testament,  speak  of  the  "Coming 
of  the  Lord."  The  ancient  creeds  have  crystallized  it 
in  confession.  The  Nicene  and  Constantinopolitan 
councils  affirmed,  "that  he  shall  come  again  with  glory 
to  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead,  whose  kingdom  shall 
have  no  end."  It  is  an  event  to  which  all  of  Christ's 
people  look  forward  with  joyful  hopes  and  fond  antici- 
pations. "O  when,"  writes  the  seraphic  Rutherford, 
"will  we  meet?  O,  how  long  is  it  to  the  dawning  of 
the  day?  O  sweet  Jesus,  take  wide  steps!  O  my 
Lord,  come  over  mountains  at  one  stride!  O  my 
blessed,  flee  as  a  roe,  or  a  young  hart  upon  the 
mountains  of  separation!  O,  if  he  would  fold  the 
heavens  together  like  an  old  cloak,  and  shovel  time 
and  days  out  of  the  way,  and  make  ready  in  haste  the 
Lamb's  wife  for  her  husband!  O  heavens,  move  fast! 
O  time,  run,  run,  and  hasten  the  marriage-day;  for 
love  is  tormented  with  delays!  Look  to  the  east,  the 
day-sky  is  breaking;  think  not  that  Chri&fc  loseth  time, 

•"^-^ 

0?  THE 

UNIVERSITY] 


342  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

or  lingereth  unsuitably.  The  Lord's  bride  will  be  up 
and  down,  above  the  water,  swimming,  or  under  the 
water  sinking,  until  her  lordly  and  mighty  Redeemer 
and  Husband  set  his  head  through  these  skies,  and  come 
with  his  fair  court  to  rid  all  these  pleas,  and  give  them 
the  longed-for  inheritance-"  All  Christians  unite  in 
believing  that  Christ  will  come  to  this  world  a  second 
time  without  sin  unto  salvation. 

As  to  the  time  of  his  second  coming  all  are  not 
agreed.  Millenarianismtor  Chiliasm,  is  "the  doctrine 
of  two  resurrections  (Rev.  xx.),  the  first,  that  of  the 
righteous  dead  at  the  time  of  the  second  advent  of 
Christ,  and  the  second  that  of  the  righteous  and  the 
wicked  at  the  end  of  the  world,  and  a  personal  cor- 
poreal reign  of  Christ  between  them,  for  a  thousand 
years,  upon  the  renovated  earth. " — Dr.  Shedd. 

It  is  well  known  that  an  extraordinary  conference  of 
bishops,  professors,  ministers  and  brethren  met  in  1878 
in  one  of  the  Episcopal  churches  in  the  city  of  New 
York  in  the  interests  of  this  doctrine.  (Others  have 
since  been  held,  but  this  one  is  typical  of  all.)  They 
called  themselves  "The  Prophetic  Conference,"  which 
was  manifestly  a  misnomer,  since  their  object  was  not 
to  interpret  prophecy,  but  to  ventilate  their  own 
individual  opinions  respecting  the  doctrine  of  Chiliasm. 
"They  drew  out  the  thread  of  their  verbosity  finer  than 
the  staple  of  their  argument. "  They  bravely  assumed 
that  a  Christian  could  not  help  accepting  their  doctrine, 
for  we  are  exhorted  to  watch  and  pray  for  his  advent, 
and  those  exhortations  have  no  meaning  except  Christ 
is  liable  to  come  at  any  moment.  They  forget  that 


CHILIASM.  343 


these  are  God's  exhortations,  and  if  God,  who  knew 
that  Christ  was  not  to  come  for  at  least  1800  years 
after  his  ascension,  could  say  to  his  people:  "The  day 
of  the  Lord  is  at  hand."  "Watch  therefore,  for  you 
know  neither  the  day  nor  the  hour  wherein  the  Son  of 
man  cometh,"  then  that  language  was  appropriate  even 
on  the  assumption  that  those  who  used  it  knew  that 
the  second  advent  was  not  to  occur  for  thousands  of 
years;  "for  a  thousand  years  are  with  God  as  one  day, 
and  one  day  as  a  thousand  years. "  This  Pre-millen- 
arian  theory  is  liable  to  the  following  grave  objections: 
I.  The  inconsistency  of  the  advocates,  and  the  con- 
flicting conclusions  to  which  they  come.  They  profess 
to  adopt  the  principle  of  literal  interpretation.  The 
prophecy  tells  us  that  the  Jews,  as  a  nation,  shall  be 
restored  to  their  own  land,  their  temple  rebuilt,  and 
all  nations  subject  to  their  sceptre.  This,  they  say,  is 
literal.  But  when  the  prophecy  says,  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth  are  to  go  up  to  Jerusalem  every  month, 
and  even  on  every  Sabbath,  they  tell  us  it  is  figurative. 
There  were  as  many  different  theories  as  there  were 
papers  read  in  the  conference.  According  to  one,  the 
thousand  years  will  be  occupied  in  judging  the 
righteous;  according  to  another,  Christ  and  his  risen 
and  glorified  saints  are  to  dwell  visibly  on  the  earth 
and  reign  for  a  thousand  years;  according  to  another, 
the  risen  and  glorified  saints  are  to  be  in  heaven,  and 
not  on  earth,  any  more  than  the  angels  now  are;  and 
yet  they  are  to  govern  the  world;  according  to  another, 
the  Bible  divides  men  into  three  classes:  the  Gentiles, 
the  Jews,  and  the  Church  of  God,  and  the  prophecies 


344  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

relating  to  the  millennium  are  understood  to  refer  to 
the  relative  condition  of  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  in  the 
world,  and  not  to  the  risen  and  glorified  believers  in 
heaven;  according  to  another,  this  earth,  changed  no 
more  by  the  fires  of  the  last  day  than  it  was  by  the 
deluge,  is  to  be  the  bright,  blessed  and  everlasting 
homestead  of  men  made  glorious  and  immortal  in  soul 
and  body;  and  according  to  another  still,  there  are  two 
heavens,  one  here  and  one  above;  two  Jerusalems,both 
to  continue  forever,  the  one  on  earth  the  other  in 
heaven;  the  one  made  with  hands,  the  other  made 
without  hands;  both  glorious  and  blessed,  but  the 
earthly  far  inferior  to  the  heavenly;  both  endless;  and 
men  will  continue  for  ever  on  earth,  living  and  dying, 
happy  but  not  perfect,  needing  regeneration  and 
sanctification,  and  when  they  die,  will  be  translated  to 
the  kingdom  which  is  above. 

Surely  such  inconsistencies  and  conflicting  con- 
clusions, which  are  the  proper  fruit  of  the  doctrine,  are 
a  fatal  objection  to  it.  Surely  there  is  no  terra  firma 
here.  It  is  an  ignis  fattens,  leading  those  who  follow 
it  they  know  not  whither. 

2.  It  is  an  essentially  Jewish  doctrine.  The  Jews  at 
the  time  of  Christ  (who  read  the  prophets  with  a  veil 
upon  their  hearts)  expected  the  Messiah  to  establish  a 
glorious  earthly  kingdom  at  Jerusalem  (just  as  Pre- 
millenarians  do  now);  that  those  who  had  died  in  the 
faith  should  be  raised  from  the  dead  to  share  in  the 
blessings  of  the  Messiah's  reign;  that  all  nations  and 
peoples  on  the  face  of  the  whole  earth  should  be 
subject  to  them;  that  any  nation  that  did  not  serve 


CHILIASM.  345 


them  should  be  destroyed;  and  that  all  the  riches  and 
and  honors  of  the  world  would  be  at  their  disposal. 
Pre-millenarianism  is  the  outgrowth  of  the  later  Jewish 
idea  of  the  Messiah.  "It  first  appears  in  the  writings 
of  the  Judaistic  Gnostic,  Cerinthus,  the  contemporary 
and  opponent  of  John.  It  was  a  peculiarity  of  the 
Jewish-Christian,  as  distinguished  from  the  Gentile- 
christian  branch  of  the  Church  at  the  close  of  the  first 
century."  Tertullian  describes  the  foundations  of  the 
rebuilt  Jerusalem  as  literally  carbuncle  and  sapphire, 
and  its  bulwarks  crystal;  and  regards  it  as  literally 
let  down  from  heaven,  according  to  Rev.  xxi.,  2,  and 
for  confirmation  refers  to  the  report,  "that  in  the 
Parthian  war  in  Judea,  a  city  was  observed  to  be 
lowered  down  from  the  sky  every  morning,  and  to 
disappear  as  the  day  advanced.  Irenaeus  cites  with 
approbation  from  Papius  the  statement,  that  there 
would  be  vines  having  ten  thousand  branches,  and 
each  branch  ten  thousand  boughs,  and  each  bough  ten 
thousand  shoots,  and  each  shoot  ten  thousand  clusters, 
and  each  cluster  ten  thousand  berries,  and  each  berry 
would  yield  twenty-five  measures  of  wine." — Dr. 
Schedd. 

How  striking  the  resemblance  between  this  and  the 
language  of  Prof.  Lummis,  in  the  "Prophetic  Con- 
ference!'' "The  Messianic  kingdom  would  be  incom- 
plete, if  that  good  which  the  Jew  anticipated  were  left 
out,  as,  thank  God,  it  will  not  be.  The  modern 
theologian,  who,  conceiving  the  kingdom  of  Jesus, 
looks  upward  and  views  the  blue  sky  and  gold  and 
crimson  clouds,  and  the  brightness  of  the  resplendent 


346  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

sun,  has  a  charming  picture,  even  if  it  be  a  little 
ethereal.  But  to  complete  its  beauty,  he  needs  the 
hills  and  valleys,  flowing  as  of  old,  in  the  land  of 
Canaan,  with  milk  and  honey,  the  palace-towers  of 
Jerusalem  the  golden,  the  white-robed  company 
marching  with  crowns  on  their  heads,  and  palms  in 
their  hands  to  strains  of  celestial  music,  the  opening 
doors  of  the  royal  mansion  and  the  broad  table  spread 
with  ambrosial  viands,  fit  for  the  children  and  the 
brothers  and  the  sisters  of  a  king,  and  the  seated 
guests,  the  patriarchs,  and  prophets,  and  all  the  godly 
race.  No  timidity  induced  by  skepticism,  within  the 
nominal  Church  of  God  or  without,  shall  make  me 
diminish  ought  of  what  my  Father's  legacy  warrants 
me  to  expect.  I  shall  see  the  King  in  his  glory,  and 
be  fellow-heir  with  Abraham.  In  company  with  the 
meek,  I  shall  possess  part  of  the  earth.  A  humble 
and  unworthy  brother  of  Jesus  Christ,  I  am  to  have 
the  body  of  my  humiliation  made  like  the  body  of  his 
glory."  The  Jews  were  disappointed  and  offended 
because  Christ  did  not  come  in  state  and  restore  the 
kingdom  to  Israel,  and  these  Chiliasts  will  be  dis- 
appointed in  expecting  him  to  set  up  a  literal  throne 
upon  Mount  Zion  and  govern  the  nations  in  his 
corporeal  presence. 

3.  It  is  not  and  never  has  been  the  faith  of  the  Church. 
An  able  paper  was  read  by  Dr.  West  before  the  late 
conference  on  "The  history  of  the  Pre-millenarian  doc- 
trine." Dr.  Shedd,  in  his  "History  of  Christian  Doc- 
trine," says,  "  Millenarianism  was  never  the  oecumenical 


CHILIASM.  .       347 


doctrine  of  the  Church  and  never  entered  as  an  article 
of  faith  into  any  of  the  creeds." 

"  Of  the  Apostolic  Fathers,  only  Barnabas,  Hermas> 
and  Papius  exhibit  in  their  writings  distinct  traces  of 
this  doctrine,  while  there  are  no  traces  of  Chiliasm  in  the 
writings  of  Clement  of  Rome,  Ignatius,  Polycarp,  Ta- 
tian,  Athenagoras,  and  Theophilus  of  Antioch"  The 
ecclesiastical  authority  of  the  latter  being  much  greater 
than  that  of  the  former,  the  inference  is,  "that  this  tenet 
was  not  the  received  faith  of  the  Church  certainly  down 
to  the  year  1 50.  "  A  further  proof  of  this  inference  is 
found  in  the  fact  that  it  does  not  appear  in  the  so- 
called  Apostles'*  creed.  This  symbol  was  not,  indeed, 
drawn  up  by  the  apostles,  but  it  is  undoubtedly  the 
substance  of  the  short  confessions  of  faith  which  the 
catechumens  of  the  Apostolic  Church  were  accus- 
tomed to  make  upon  entering  the  church;  so  that 
it  is  a  full  statement  of  what  passed  for  the  sub- 
stance of  Christianity  with  them.  But  in  this  sym- 
bol there  is  not  the  slightest  allusion  to  two  resurrec- 
tions and  a  corporeal  reign  of  Christ  between  them. 
The  opposite  is  taught.  Even  in  the  period  between 
the  year  150  and  250,  "the  blooming  age  of  Millenar- 
ianism,"  it  does  not  appear  as  an  article  of  faith  in  the 
Catholic  creed.  The  Nicene  and  Athanasian  creeds 
condemn  it  by  declaring  the  true  doctrine.  During 
the  Middle  Ages  it  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  had  any 
existence  as  a  doctrine.  The  Augsburg  Confession  will 
be  reckoned  good  authority.  With  a  view  to  an  amic- 
able arrangement  of  the  religious  split  that  had  ex- 
isted in  Germany  since  1517,  Charles  V.,  as  protector 


348  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

of  the  Church,  had  convoked  a  diet  of  the  empire,  to 
meet  at  Augsburg,  April  8th,  1530?  and  had  required 
from  the  Protestants  a  short  statement  of  the  doctrines 
in  which  they  departed  from  the  Catholic  Church.  The 
Elector,  John,  of  Saxony,  therefore,  in  March,  called 
on  his  Wittenberg  theologians,  with  Luther  at  their 
head,  to  draw  up  articles  of  faith  to  lay  before  him  at 
Torgau.  The  commissioned  doctors  took  as  a  basis, 
in  so  far  as  pure  doctrine  was  concerned,  articles  that 
had  been  agreed  to  the  previous  year  at  conferences 
held  at  Marburg  and  Schwabach.  These  doctrinal  ar- 
ticles supplemented,  and  with  a  practical  part  newly 
added,  were  laid  before  the  Elector  at  Torgau.  Mel- 
ancthon  then,  taking  the  Torgau  articles  as  a  founda- 
dation,  and  with  the  advice  of  various  Protestant  theo- 
logians, composed  the  document  which  he  first  called 
an  apology,  but  which  in  the  diet  itself  took  the  name 
of  the  Augsburg  Confession.  This  confession  repre- 
sents the  attainments  of  the  Church  at  the  First 
Reformation.  It  condemns  Chiliasm  in  conjunction 
with  the  doctrine  of  a  limited  future  punishment; 
both  tenets  being  held  by  the  Anabaptists  of  that  day: 
"Damnant  Anabaptistas,  qui  sentiunt  hominibus  dam- 
natis  ac  diabolis  finem  poenarum  futurum  esse.  Damnant 
et  alois,  qui  spargunt  Judiacas  opiniones,  quod  ante 
resurrectionem  mortuorum  pii  regnum  mundi  occupa- 
turi  sint,  ubique  oppressis  impiis.'' 

"  The  Thirty-nine  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England 
are  the  articles  of  religion  which  were  agreed  upon  by 
the  archbishops  and  bishops  of  both  provinces,  and 
the  whole  clergy  in.  the  convocation  held  in  London  in 


CHILIASM.  .      349 


the  4th  year  of  Elizabeth,  1562,  under  Archbishop 
Parker."  They  have  been  described  as  "containing  a 
whole  body  of  divinity."  To  have  a  clear  view  of  the 
history  of  these  important  articles,  we  must  go  back  to 
the  promulgation  of  the  original  ones,  forty-two  in  num- 
ber, in  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.  The  council  ap- 
pointed by  the  will  of  Henry  VIII.,  to  conduct  the 
government  during  the  king's  minority,  was  for  the 
most  part  favorably  disposed  towards  the  Reformed 
opinions,  and  the  management  of  church  affairs  de- 
volved almost  entirely  upon  Archbishop  Cranmer.  In 
the  year  1546,  an  act  of  Parliament  was  passed,  em- 
powering the  king  to  appoint  a  commission  of  32  per- 
sons to  make  ecclesiastical  laws.  Under  this  act,  a 
commission  of  8  bishops,  8  divines,  8  civilians,  and  8 
lawyers,  (amongst  whom  were  Cranmer,  Ridley,  Cov- 
erdale,  Hooper,  Leory,  Peter  Martyr,  Justice  Hales, 
&c.,)  was  appointed  in  1551,  and  one  of  the  first  acts 
was  to  draw  up  a  code  of  articles  of  faith.  These  were 
forty-two  in  number,  and  were  set  forth  by  the  king's 
authority  in  1553.  They  are  known  as  the  confession 
of  Edward  VI.  From  these  the  Thirty-nine  Articles 
were  drawn.  Here  it  is  condemned  in  nearly  the  same 
terms  as  in  the  Augsburg  Confession.  "Qui  millena- 
riorum  fabulam  revocare  conantur,  sacris  literis  adver- 
santur,  et  in  Jtidaica  deliramenta  sese  praecipitant.'' 
The  Helvetic  confessions,  that  of  Basel,  1530,  and  Bui- 
linger,  Expositio  Simplex,  1566;  the  Tetrapolitan  con- 
fessions, 1531;  the  Gallic  Confession,  1575;  the  Bel- 
gic  Confession,  1559,  guard  the  statement  respecting 
the  second  advent  of  Christ,  by  teaching  that  the  time 


350  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

of  its  occurrence  is  unknown  to  all  created  beings,  and 
that  it  will  not  take  place  until  the  number  of  the  elect 
is  completed.  The  Assembly  of  divines  at  Westmin- 
ster was  called  by  the  Long  Parliament  to  meet  in  the 
chapel  of  Henry  VII.  on  July  i,  1643. 

This  Assembly  represents  the  attainments  of  the 
Church  in  the  Second  Reformation.  It  declared  that 
Christ  "shall  come  again  at  the  last  day  in  great 
power,  and  in  full  manifestations  of  his  own  glory,  and 
of  his  Father's,  with  all  his  holy  angels,  with  a  shout, 
with  the  voice  of  the  archangel  and  with  the  trump  of 
God,  to  judge  the  world  in  righteousness."  This  is 
the  last  free  General  Assembly  the  Church  has  had, 
and  by  its  decisions  we  are  bound  until  we  get  another. 
The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  is  the  ulti- 
mate and  final  appeal  in  civil  matters.  This  supreme 
judicature  of  the  Church  is  the  ultimate  and  final  ap- 
peal in  ecclesiastical  matters,  until  such  another  Gen- 
eral Assembly  convenes. 

IV.  //  disparages  the  Gospel.  Prof.  Kellogg  read  a 
paper  before  the  late  Conference  in  which  he  labors  to 
prove  that  it  is  not  the  mission  of  the  Gospel  to  con- 
vert the  world,  but  simply  "to  bear  witness."  He  tells 
us  the  nations  will  not  be  converted  by  the  Gospel, 
but  by  a  stupendous  display  of  divine  wrath  upon  all 
the  apostate  and  ungodly.  Does  the  Doctor  not  know 
that  wrath  never  converted  a  single  soul,  and  never 
will?  Does  he  not  know  that  Pharaoh  and  the 
Egyptians  were  hardened  by  the  ten  plagues  sent 
upon  them?  Does  he  forget  that  the  Jews  were  made 
more  obstinate  and  rebellious  by  the  tribulations, 


CHILIASM.  351 


lamentations  and  war  sent  upon  them  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem?  Does  he  not  remember  that  crime 
in  every  revolting  form  bloomed  and  blossomed  and 
bore  fruit  in  Paris  during  the  Reign  pf  Terror?  Judg- 
ments tend  to  harden  rather  than  to  convert.  The 
Doctor  grants  that  the  Gospel  has  and  will  convert 
God's  chosen  people.  And  well  he  may,  in  view  of 
the  divine  testimony:  "My  word  shall  not  return  unto 
me  void,  but  it  shall  accomplish  that  which  I  please, 
and  it  shall  prosper  in  the  thing  whereto  I  have  sent 
it."  "The  law  of  the  Lord  is  perfect,  converting  the 
soul."  Now  it  stands  to  reason,  that  what  will  affect 
one  mind  and  heart  in  a  certain  state,  will  affect  a  mul- 
titude in  the  same  condition.  Given  the  same  soil, 
the  same  seed,  the  same  season,  and  the  same  Almighty 
Spirit  to  bless,  and  there  is  no  reason  for  setting  limits 
on  the  results.  Give  me  a  single  coal  of  fire,  and  the 
building  will  soon  be  in  flames.  Give  me  the  word  of 
God,  the  Holy  Spirit  to  bless,  and  a  voice  to  publish 
it,  and  the  whole  world  will  soon  be  converted.  Give 
me  the  power  to  create  one  world,  and  soon  I  will  fill 
space  with  revolving  planets.  Give  me  the  power  to 
create  one  bird,  and  soon  all  the  forests  will  be  reso- 
nant with  winged  songsters.  Give  me  the  power  to 
make  one  diamond,  and  soon  my  wealth  will  surpass 
that  of  Golconda.  Give  this  Word,  which  is  quick 
and  powerful,  sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword, 
piercing  even  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  soul  and 
spirit,  and  of  the  joints  and  marrow,  a  discerner  of  the 
thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart,  power  to  convert 
one  soul,  and  soon  all  the  world  will  be  converted  to 


352  RE  FORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

Christ.  Ask  Jonah  if  the  word  of  God  has  this  power, 
and  he  will  point  you  to  Nineveh,  kneeling  in  sack- 
cloth and  ashes.  Ask  the  Apostles  if  the  Gospel  will 
convert,  and  they  will  say,  Behold  three  thousand  con- 
verted in  one  day.  Ask  Martin  Luther  if  the  Gospel 
is  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation,  and  he  will  say, 
Behold  all  Germany  hanging  on  my  lips  like  bees  in  a 
swarm.  Ask  the  missionaries  in  India  to-day  if  it  has 
pleased  God  by  the  foolishness  of  preaching  to  save 
them  that  believe,  and  they  will  say,  Behold  the  thou- 
sands flocking  to  the  Cross  daily,  a  nation  born  at 
once.  This  is  but  the  falling  of  the  first  autumnal 
leaves;  soon  the  more  copious  outpouring  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  will  come,  converting  the  Jews,  bringing  in  the 
fulness  of  the  Gentiles,  and  establishing  Christ's  king- 
dom of  blessedness,  righteousness,  and  peace,  from  sea 
to  sea,  and  from  the  river  unto  the  utmost  ends  of  the 
earth. 

It  is  an  old  maxim  in  divinity,  that  doctrines  are  not 
to  be  built  upon  prophetic  or  symbolic  scripture.  Pre- 
Millennialism,  however,  is  one  entire  product  of  the 
reverse  of  this  principle.  Its  rests  upon  the  theory  of 
two  resurrections,  one  of  the  righteous  dead  before 
the  millennium,  and  the  other  of  the  wicked  dead 
after  the  millennium,  and  these  two  pillars  find  footing 
in  Rev.  20:  4-7.  If  this  foundation  will  not  bear  the 
test,  the  pillars  sink  in  the  quicksands  and  the  super- 
structure goes  to  ruin.  As  a  preface  to  our  remarks 
upon  this  passage  we  quote  from  Bishop  Wadsworth's 
Lectures  on  the  Apocalypse.  "First  let  it  be  observed 
that  the  words  are  not  spoken  of  the  bodies  of  the 


CHILIASM.  353 


saints  but  of  their  souls.  'I  saw  the  souls  of  them  who 
had  been  beheaded  for  the  witness  of  Jesus.'  This 
must  be  carefully  borne  in  mind,  because  the  error  of 
the  Millennarians  is  mainly  due  to  a  neglect  of  this 
distinction.  They  imagine  a  bodily  resurrection, 
whereas  St.  John  speaks  of  a  spirtual  one.  Secondly, 
it  is  not  said  in  the  original  that  their  souls  lived  again, 
but  that  they  lived  and  reigned  with  Christ.  It  is 
clear,  then,  that  what  is  here  said,  is  spoken  not  of  a 
corporeal,  but  of  a  spiritual  resurrection.  Thirdly,  it 
is  not  said  that  Christ  reigns  with  the  saints,  but  that 
they  reign  with  him.  He  is  in  heaven,  and  will  there 
remain  until  he  come  to  judge,  when  all  true  believers 
will  be  caught  up  to  meet  him  in  the  air.  Therefore, 
what  is  here  said  is  spoken  not  of  an  earthly  but  of  a 
heavenly  resurrection.  And  what  now  is  the  spiritual 
resurrection  of  a  Christian?  Our  natural  condition  is 
one  of  death.  By  nature  we  are  spiritually  dead;  but 
Christ,  who  is  the  Prince  of  life,  hath  quickened  us  who 
are  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins.  Therefore,  our  first 
or  spiritual  resurrection  is  our  death  to  sin,  and  new 
birth  into  righteousness — is  our  engrafting  into  the 
true  vine — our  incorporation  into  the  body  of  Christ." 
The  first  resurrection  here  is  a  resurrection  of 
character — it  is  regeneration — it  is  the  new  birth;  the 
second  resurrection  is  a  general  and  final  resurrection 
of  both  the  just  and  the  unjust.  In  the  following 
exposition  we  tread  in  the  pathway  of  Dr.  Brown  in 
his  "Second  Advent." 

I.   In  this  passage  we  have    the  first  Resurrection 
and  the  second;  the  first  Death  and  the  second;  and  in 


354  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

both  cases  there  is  a  contrast.  If,  as  Pre-Millennarians 
tell  us,  the  first  resurrection  must  be  literal  because 
the  second,  is  then  the  second  death  must  be  a  literal 
sundering  of  soul  and  body,  because  the  first  is. 
This  no  one  admits.  If  the  resurrection  means  the 
raising  and  glorifying  of  the  bodies  of  the  redeemed, 
what  is  the  propriety  of  saying  "upon  them  the  second 
death  shall  have  no  power?"  It  is  superfluous  inform- 
ation. But  if  it  be  a  resurrection  of  character  then  the 
declaration  is  pregnant  with  meaning. 

2.  There  are  two  classes  here,  those  who  have  part  in 
the  first  resurrection,  and  those  who  are  under  the  power 
of  the  second  death.    What  will  become  of  the  myriads 
in  flesh  and  blood  who  will  people  the  earth  during 
the  millennium?     They  cannot  have  part  in  the  first 
resurrection,  Pre-millennarians  tell  us,  for  that  is  past. 
They  must  all  go  down  to  the  second  death.     Will  we 
accept  such  a  conclusion? 

3.  If  it  be  a  literal  resurrection  and  glorification  of 
Christ's  people,  why  say  "they  will  reign  with  Christ  a 
thousand  years,"  when  we  are  so  often  assured  else- 
where that  after  the  resurrection  they  shall  reign  with 
him  forever  and  ever. 

4.  If  the  first  resurrection  means  the  literal  resur- 
rection of  Christ's  people  before  the  millennium,  then 
"the  rest  of  the  dead  lived  not  again  until  the  thousand 
years   were  finished,"  must  mean  the  resurrection    of 
all  the  wicked  immediately  after  the  millennuim.      But 
have  we  any  resurrection  immediately  after  the  millen- 
nium?     None    at    all.      The    "little    season"    follows, 
(which  Bengel  says  must  be  at  least  1 1 1  years,  per- 


CHI  LI  ASM.  355 


haps  several  centuries).  They  tell  us  that  this  little 
season  will  be  occupied  in  raising  the  wicked  dead, 
and  that  those  passages  which  tell  us  of  Satan's  being 
let  loose  to  deceive  the  nations,  and  gather  them  to- 
gether to  battle,  Gog  and  Magog,  to  compass  the 
camp  of  the  saints — all  this  means  the  wicked  shall  be 
raised  out  of  their  graves.  Is  the  Spirit  accustomed 
to  wasting  words  and  figures  in  this  manner? 

5.  In  connection  with  the  first  resurrection  it  is  not 
said  "the  seas,  death  and  the  graves  gave  up  the  dead 
that  were  in  them,"  which  proves  that  it  is  not  a  literal 
resurrection.      In  connection  wtth  the  final  resurrection 
it  is  said  that  the  seas,  death  and  the  graves  gave  up 
the  dead  that  were  in  them,  which  proves  that  it  is  the 
general  resurrection  of  both  the  just  and  the  unjust. 

6.  This  is  a  martyr  scene.     "I  saw  thrones  and  they 
sat  upon  them  and  judgment  was  given   unto  them." 
Who  sat  upon   the  thrones?     First  class,  "I  saw  the 
souls  of  them  that  were  beheaded   for  the  witness  of 
Jesus,   and  for  the  word   of  God."     Second  class,  "I 
saw  the  souls  of  them  which  had  not  worshiped  the  beast, 
neither  his  image,  neither  had  received  his  mark  upon 
their  foreheads,  or  in  their  hands."     What  two  classes 
of  martyrs  are   here?     In  the  6th  chapter  John  "saw 
under  the  altar  the   souls  of  them  that  were  slain  for 
the  word  of  God,  and  for  the  testimony  which  they 
held;  and  they   cried   with  a  loud  voice   saying,  'How 
long,  O  Lord,  holy  and  true,  dost  thou  not  judge  and 
avenge    our  blood  on  them  that  dwell  on  the   earth?' 
And  it  was  said  unto  them,  that  they  should  rest  yet 
for  a  little  season,  until  their  fellow  servants  also,  and 


356  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

their  brethren,  that  should  be  killed  as  they  were, 
should  be  fulfilled."  There  one  class  of  martyrs  ap- 
pears and  another  class  is  promised.  Here  we  have  both 
the  class  that  appeared  there,  and  the  class  that  was 
promised.  Who  are  they?  "Beheading,  a  well-known 
Roman  mode  of  putting  to  an  ignominious  death,  is 
mentioned  here,  merely  to  denote  the  Roman  author- 
ity by  whom  they  were  slain,  in  the  Pagan  and  un- 
broken period  of  the  empire."  All  the  martyrs  of 
Jesus  under  the  Pagan  persecuttons  are  embraced  in 
the  first  class.  The  Papacy  is  the  beast.  All  who 
suffer  martyrdom  under  Papal  Rome  are  embraced  in 
the  second  class.  The  passage  is  utterly  inadequate 
to  express  the  resurrection  of  the  whole  church  of  God 
bodily  from  the  grave,  for  it  only  embraces  the  mar- 
tyrs under  Pagan  and  Papal  Rome.  It  is  a  figurative 
resurrection,  like  that  of  the  two  witnesses.  "After 
three  days  and  a  half,  the  spirit  of  life  from  God  en- 
tered into  them,  and  they  stood  upon  their  feet;"  or 
the  bringing  in  of  the  Jews.  "After  two  days  will  he 
revive  us;  in  the  third  day  he  will  raise  us  up,  and  we 
will  live  in  his  sight."  John  Huss,  before  his  death, 
anticipated  the  day  when,  "awaking  from  among  the 
dead,  and  rising  from  his  grave,  he  would  leap  with 
great  joy."  Mr.  Elliot  mentions  that  a  medal  exists, 
representing  Huss  at  the  stake,  and  with  this  legend 
round  it:  "When  a  hundred  years  shall  have  revolved, 
ye  shall  answer  to  God  and  to  me. "  He  also  refers  to  a 
brief  addressed  by  Pope  Adrian,  in  1533,  to  the  Diet  at 
Nurenburg,  containing  these  words:  "The  heretics, 


CHILIASM.  357 


Huss  and  Jerome,  are  now  alive  again  in  the  person  of 
Martin  Luther."     This  is  the  first  resurrection. 

7.  The  Judgment  given  them  proves  it  to  be  a  fig- 
urative resurrection.  They  are  raised  to  be  avenged 
upon  their  enemies.  Paul  is  raised  to  get  vengeance 
upon  his  enemies.  Then  Nero  must  be  raised  to  suf- 
fer the  vengeance.  If  Ignatius  is  raised  to  receive 
judgment,  Trajan  also  that  his  "blood  may  be  avenged 
upon  him."  If  Justin  and  Polycarp,  and  the  blessed  mar- 
tyrs of  Lyons  and  Vienne,  the  mild  and  lauded  Marcus 
Antoninus  also,  to  be  confronted  in  this  "Judicial," 
"  blood-avenging"  resurrection.  If  the  seventy  thousand 
Huguenots  who  were  slaughtered  in  three  days  in  Paris, 
then  also  the  Guises  and  the  Pope  of  Rome  who  had 
Te  Deums  sung  in  honor  of  the  massacre.  If  the 
18,000  Covenanters  who  suffered  in  Scotland  during 
those  twenty-eight  years  of  persecution,  then  Charles 
II.,  James  II.,  Lauderdale,  Claverhouse  and  all  that 
blood-stained  band  also,  that  they  may  be  avenged 
upon  their  enemies.  But  no,  they  tell  us  the  wicked 
will  not  be  raised  until  the  last  day.  Then  the  saints 
will  not  be  raised  until  the  last  day.  Another  objec- 
tion to  Pre-Millenarianism  is: 

V.  It  invades  the  office  and  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Rev.  Parsons  calls  the  period  from  Pentecost  to  the 
millennium  "The  age  of  the  Paraclete."  And  within 
this  period  alone  he  is  to  work.  "Evidently  we  have 
a  period  or  dispensation  for  his  official  action  here, 
which  is  to  end."  .  .  ."If  this  dispensation  is  for  the 
conversion  of  the  whole  world  to  Christ,  then  for  1,800 
years,  any  one  can  see,  it  has  been  a  stupendous  fail- 


358  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

ure.  "  .  .  ."There  are  many  large  and  precious  promises 
for  the  age  to  follow,  but  in  that  the  Spirit  has  no 
agency."  Could  anything  more  dishonoring  to  the 
Holy  Ghost  have  been  written?  Is  it  not  doing  de- 
spite to  the  Spirit  of  Grace?  It  was  the  province  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  bring  the  cosmos  out  of  the  chaos.  And  I 
suppose,  according  to  the  reasoning  of  this  learned  di- 
vine that  because  three-fourths  of  the  earth's  surface  is 
covered  with  water,  and  because  there  are  many  destruc- 
tive volcanos  and  barren  wildernesses,  and  low,  sour,  fes- 
tering marshes,  that  therefore  his  work  is  a  failure.  It 
is  the  province  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  apply  the  work  of 
Christ  to  his  people,  and  because  few  have  been  saved 
as  yet,  that  the  purpose  of  God,  according  to  election 
might  stand,  his  work  is  a  failure.  Such  a  declaration 
amounts  to  blasphemy  against  the  Holy  Spirit.  The 
office  and  work  of  the  Spirit  is  as  much  a  fact  as 
the  office  and  work  of  Christ.  And  hence  the  Sa- 
vior said:  "It  is  expedient  that  I  go  away,  for  if 
I  go  not  away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come,  but  if  I 
go  away  I  will  send  him  unto  you. "  "He  shall  glorify 
me,  for  he  shall  receive  of  mine,  and  shall  show  it  unto 
you."  "I  will  pray  the  Father  and  he  will  send  you 
another  Comforter,  that  he  may  abide  with  you  forever, 
even  the  Spirit  of  truth.  The  Comforter,  which  is  the 
Holy  Ghost,  whom  the  Father  shall  send  in  my  name, 
he  shall  teach  you  all  things."  The  Savior  must  go  to 
heaven  and  intercede  for  the  Spirit,  else  he  will  not 
be  given  to  his  people.  The  intercession  of  Christ  and 
the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  are  connected  in  the  econ- 
omy of  redemption  as  cause  and  effect.  As  long  as 


CHI  LI  ASM.  .        359 


the  first  continues  the   second   will  continue  and  no 
longer.     The   Savior's  intercession  will  be  eternal;  but 
for  saving  purposes  it  will  cease  at  his  second  coming, 
and  then  the  Holy  Spirit  will  cease  being  poured  out 
for  saving  purposes.     In  Heb.  ix:  12,  24-28,  Paul  rep- 
resents the  two  advents  of  Christ  as  standing  at  the 
extremities  of  his  mediatorial  work,  while  the  interces- 
sion stretches  from  one  to  the  other,  and  occupies  the 
whole -intervening  period.     Each  of  these  three  things 
is  termed  an  "appearing" — and  each  is  said  to  be  done 
once.     Thus  "once  in  the  end  of  the  world  hath  he  ap- 
peared to  put  away  sin  by  the   sacrifice  of  himself. " 
"By  his  own  blood  he  entered   in   once  into  the  holy 
place — into  heaven  itself,  now  to   appear  in  the  pres- 
ence of  God  for  us."     "And  unto  them  that  look  for 
him   shall   he   appear   the   second   time,  (once  for  all) 
without  sin  unto  salvation."     The  first  and  the  last  ap- 
pearances are  to  us.     The  intermediate  is  to  God  for 
us.     The  intermediate   appearance — "in  the  presence 
of  God  for  us,"  carries  into  effect  the  work  of  his  first 
appearance  to  us,  and  prepares  the  way  for  the  second. 
As  he  appeared  the  first  time  "to    put  away    sin  by 
the  sacrifice  of  himself,"  so  he  will  appear  the  second 
time  "without  sin  unto  salvation.  "    Dr.Brown,  "  Second 
Advent.  "  Now,  as  the  second  coming  is  here  represented 
as  crowning  the  whole  purpose  of  the  first ,  it  is  plain 
that  the    intercession,    which   is  a  continual    pleading 
upon  the  merit  of  his  death,  must  be  over,  for  all  sav- 
ing purposes,  before  he  comes.     Even  Joseph   Perry 
says:  "I  cannot  believe  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  will 
come  down  from  heaven,  and  leave  that  great  work  of 


360  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

his  intercession,  now  at  God's  right  hand,  until  the 
whole  number  of  God's  elect,  among  Jews  and  Gen- 
tiles, are  converted,  and  the  mystical  body  of  Christ  is 
completed;  and  if  so,  where  is  there  any  room  for  con- 
version work  to  go  on  after  that?  It  is  admitted  on 
all  hands  that  the  whole  application  of  Christ's  work  in 
the  flesh,  is  accomplished  in  every  one  of  his  people, 
from  first  to  last,  by  the  agency  of  the  Spirit  commu- 
nicated by  his  continual  intercession.  The  mission  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  to  regenerate  and  sanctify  the  peo- 
ple of  God.  Over  and  over  he  is  said  'to  dwell  in  them/ 
signifying  that  he  produces  in  them  holy  desires,  and 
emotions  and  purposes."  This  work  is  peculiar  to 
God  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  can  not  be  performed  by  an- 
other. If  the  office  and  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  are 
necessary  to  convert  one  soul,  then  they  are  necessary  to 
convert  every  soul  contemplated  in  the  covenant  of  re- 
demption. "If  Christ  should  leave  his  work  of  interces- 
sion in  heaven  and  come  to  reign  upon  earth,  the  Holy 
Spirit  would  withdraw;  the  channels  of  grace  would  all 
be  dried  up;  the  mission  of  the  scriptures  in  convincing 
and  converting  sinners  would  be  exhausted;  the  seal- 
ing ordinances  of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper  would 
be  interdicted,  and  there  would  be  no  possibility  of 
another  sinner  coming  to  Jesus  Christ." 

Pre-millennarians  set  aside  all  these  facts  with  the 
blasphemous  declaration,  that  "for  the  last  1,800  years 
the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  has  been  a  stupendous 
failure."  On  the  day  of  Pentecost  he  descended  in  the 
form  of  cloven  tongues  of  fire,  and  converted  three 
thousand.  Did  that  look  like  failure?  When  Christ- 


CHILIASM.  361 


ianity  ascended  the  throne  of  the  Caesars,  in  the  days 
of  Constantine,  "it  expelled  cruelty;  it  crushed 
passion;  it  branded  suicide;  it  punished  and  repressed 
an  execrable  infanticide;  it  drove  the  shameless 
impurities  of  heathendom  into  a  congenial  darkness. 
There  was  hardly  a  class  whose  wrongs  it  did  not  rem- 
edy. It  rescued  the  gladiator;  it  freed  the  slave;  it 
protected  the  captive;  it  nursed  the  sick;  it  sheltered 
the  orphan;  it  elevated  woman;  it  shrouded  as  with  a 
halo  of  sacred  innocence  the  tender  years  of  the  child. 
In  every  region  of  life  its  ameliorating  influence  was 
felt.  It  changed  pity  from  a  vice  into  a  virtue.  It 
elevated  poverty  from  a  curse  into  a  beatitude.  It 
ennobled  labor  from  a  vulgarity  into  a  dignity  and  a 
duty.  It  sanctified  marriage  from  little  more  than  a 
burdensome  convention  into  little  less  than  a  blessed 
sacrament.  It  revealed  for  the  first  timg  the  angelic 
beauty  of  a  Purity  of  which  men  had  despaired,  and  of 
a  Meekness  at  which  they  had  utterly  scoffed.  It 
created  the  very  conception  of  charity,  and  broadened 
the  limits  of  its  obligation  from  the  narrow  circle  of  a 
neighborhood  to  the  widest  horizons  of  the  race. 
And  while  it  thus  evolved  the  idea  of  Humanity  as  a 
common  brotherhood,  even  where  its  tidings  were  not 
believed — all  over  the  world,  where  ever  its  tidings 
were  believed,  it  cleansed  the  life,  and  elevated  the 
soul  of  each  individual  man.  And  in  all  lands  where 
it  molded  the  characters  of  its  true  believers,  it  created 
hearts  so  pure,  and  lives  so  peaceful,  and  homes  so 
sweet,  that  it  might  seem  as  though  those  angels  who 
heralded  its  advent  had  also  whispered  to  every 


362  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

depressed  and  despairing  sufferer  among  the  sons  of 
men,  'Though  ye  have  lien  among  the  pots,  yet  shall 
ye  be  as  the  wings  of  a  dove  covered  with  silver,  and 
her  feathers  with  yellow  gold.'" — Canon  Farrar, 
"Life  .of  Christ."  Does  this  look  like  failure? 

When  God  spake  the  word,  Martin  Luther  drew  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit  and  gave  the  beast  a  wound  unto 
death,  awakened  the  people  from  the  sleep  of  ages, 
introduced  the  new  world  of  modern  history,  and  the 
stupendous  career  of  progression,  liberty  and  civiliza- 
tion which  has  ensued  from  it.  Did  that  look  like 
failure?  The  torch  of  truth  which  issued  from  the 
cabin  of  the  Mayflower  in  1620,  and  was  planted  by 
the  pilgrims  upon  Plymouth  Rock  as  a  beacon-light 
for  all  nations,  soon  flamed  from  the  heights  of  the 
Allegheny  and  Rocky  mountains,  illuminating  a  na- 
tion whose  territory  is  larger  than  Caesar  ever  ruled, 
the  intensity  of  its  light  making  the  nation  for  shame 
to  break  the  shackles  of  four  millions  of  slaves,  and  is 
now  consecrating  our  nation  to  the  conservation  of 
civil  and  religious  freedom.  Does  that  look  like  fail- 
ure? To-day  the  gospel  trumpet  is  sounding  from 
the  rock-bound  coast  of  the  Pacific  to  the  Fegee 
Islands,  from  the  heights  of  the  Himalayas  to  the  valley 
of  the  Ganges,  from  the  mountains  of  the  Moon  in  the 
heart  of  Africa,  to  Egypt's  rich  valley  of  the  Ni,e,  from 
the  walls  of  China  and  Japan  to  the  ice-bound  moun- 
tains of  the  Tundra,  from  the  snow-capped  alps  of  thePyr- 
enees  to  the  Acropolis  and  Colosseum.  The  sun  never 
sets  upon  those  who  have  been  gladdened  with  the 
good  news  of  salvation.  Through  the  two  great  arms 


CHILIASM.  +          363 


of  the  British  and  American  Bible  Societies  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  scattering  the  leaves  of  the  tree  of  life  which 
are  for  the  healing  of  the  nations,  so  that  to-day  there 
are  450,000,000  professing  Christians  in  the  world. 
Does  that  look  like  failure?  Why  do  these  brethren 
paralyze  Christian  effort  by  telling  us  the  work  of  the 
Spirit  is  a  failure,  and  the  present  means  are  not  suffi- 
cient to  convert  the  world?  As  Moses  said  to  the 
children  of  Reuben,  who  sued  for  an  inheritance  be- 
yond Jordan:  "Wherefore  discourage  ye  the  heart  of 
the  children  of  Israel  from  going  over  into  the  land 
which  the  Lord  hath  given  them?"  Presently  that 
promise,  "I  will  pour  out  my  spirit  upon  all  flesh,"  will 
be  fulfilled.  And  when  the  time  to  "favor  Zion  comes, 
even  the  set  time,"  it  will  be  seen  that  it  needed  but 
the  agencies  of  the  present  dispensation  to  be  brought 
into  full  play  to  accomplish  all  that  is  promised;  and 
"then  will  it  appear  what  a  mine  of  wealth,  and  what  a 
magazine  of  power  for  the  spiritual  recovery  of  a  dis- 
eased world,  were  in  possession  of  the  church's  head, 
and  were  all  along  the  dowry  of  his  people."  Then 
will  be  seen  what  Christ  can  do  by  his  word  and.  Spirit. 
Then  will  "all  the  missionary  principle  and  energy  of 
the  Church  evolve  themselves  even  to  their  own  as- 
tonishment, and  the  majestic  steps  in  Providence  will 
startle  men  from  their  stupid  slumbers,  awing  their 
spirits,  and  constraining  their  attention  to  long-despised 
truths."  Then  will  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  cover 
the  earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea. 

"How  fair  the  daughter  of  Jerusalem  then  ! 
How  glorious  from  Zion's  hill  she  looked  ! 


364  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

Cloth'd  with  the  sun,  and  in  her  train  the  moon, 

And  on  her  head  a  coronet  of  stars; 
And  girdling  round  her  waist  with  heavenly  grace 

The  bow  of  mercy  bright ;  and  in  her  hand 
ImmanueFs  cross,  her  sceptre  and  her  hope." 

When  this  consummation  shall  have  been  reached, 
the  saints  will  proclaim  from  every  mountain  top,  and 
through  every  valley:  "The  Spirit's  work  is  not  a 
failure. " 

VI.  It  is  based  upon  a  false  conception  of  the  Mes- 
sianic kingdom.  Prof  Lummis  told  us,  that  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  had  not  yet  come,  that  the  little  stone 
had  not  yet  been  cut  out  of  the  mountain  without 
hands.  "The  clang  of  the  stone  striking  at  the  feet  of 
the  huge  image  has  not  yet  been  heard;  the  crumbling 
of  dynasties,  and  the  sweeping  away  of  their  debris  as 
with  the  breath  of  a  tempest,  has  not  yet  been  seen. 
'Thy  kingdom  come,  thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is 
in  heaven/  alone  constitutes  a  divine  prayer.  Has  it 
been  answered?  If  so,  it  need  not  be  our  prayer 
longer."  What  will  the  Professor  do  with  the  declara- 
tions of  John  the  Baptist?  "The  kingdom  of  heaven 
is  at  hand."  How  could  the  kingdom  of  heaven  be 
said  to  be  at  hand  then,  if  1,800  years  have  gone,  and 
it  is  still  not  here?  Did  not  our  Lord  go  from  village 
to  village  preaching  the  kingdom  of  heaven?  Did  he 
not  answer  Pilate:  "Thou  sayest  that  I  am  a  king. 
To  this  end  was  I  born,  and  for  this  cause  came  I  into 
the  world?"  Did  not  the  Apostles  testify  everywhere 
"the  kingdom  of  God?"  Was  it  not  their  business  to 
exhort  all  men  to  seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God,  and 
to  receive  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  the  anointed  and 


CHILIASM.  365 


predicted  Messiah,  and  to  love,  trust,  obey  and  worship 
him?  Were  they  not,  on  this  account,  accused  of 
"acting  contrary  to  the  decrees  of  Caesar,  saying  that 
there  is  another  king,  one  Jesus?"  Every  believer  re- 
ceives Christ  as  his  king.  Those  who  receive  him  in 
sincerity  constitute  his  kingdom,  in  the  sense  in  which 
the  loyal  subjects  of  an  earthly  sovereign  constitute 
his  kingdom.  Those  who  profess  allegiance  to  Christ 
as  king,  constitute  his  visible  kingdom  upon  earth. 
Pre-millenarians  are  far  astray  when  they  tell  us  that 
Christ  has  not  yet  received  his  kingdom.  According 
to  prophecy,  he  is  now  "a  priest  upon  his  throne." 
John  saw  him  standing  in  the  midst  of  the  throne,  a 
lamb  as  it  had  been  slain.  He  has  the  key  of  David. 
He  openeth  and  no  man  shutteth;  and  shutteth  and  no- 
man  openeth.  This  kingdom,  as  already  in  being, 
commencing  formally  on  his  ascension  to  the  right 
hand  of  God,  will  continue  unchanged,  both  in  charac- 
ter and  form,  till  the  final  judgment.  It  has  already 
passed  through  a  variety  of  stages.  It  had  its  twilight 
period  in  the  patriarchal  and  Jewish  age.  Then  it  was 
"fair  as  the  moon."  "All  the  grace  that  ever  was  put 
forth  before  the  Redeemer's  death,  was  given  on  the 
credit  of  it.  It  being  to  the  divine  mind  infallibly  cer- 
tain, from  the  foundation  of  the  world,  that  at  the 
appointed  time  Christ  would  suffer,  it  was  held  as  done 
and  accepted  in  the  court  of  heaven,  and  authority  was 
given  from  the  very  first  to  extend  salvation  to  as  many 
of  his  people  as  should  live  before  the  incarnation;  in 
other  words,  to  bring  all  the  mediatorial  offices  into 
play,  through  the  Spirit's  agency,  from  the  very  date 


366  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

of  the  fall.  When,  however,  the  great  sacrifice  was 
actually  offered  before  the  Majesty  on  high,  it  was 
actually  accepted,  his  title  to  save  was  formally  recog- 
nized, and  himself  formally  installed  in  office.  "The 
Holy  Ghost  was  then  given  because  that  Jesus  was  now 
glorified' — given  now  for  the  first  time,  not  actually 
but  formally,  having  its  legal  ground  now  for  the  first 
time  palpably  laid  in  the  finished  and  accepted  work 
of  the  blessed  Surety.  From  the  time  of  its  formal 
inauguration  to  the  present,  it  has  been  enjoying  the 
full  light  of  the  gospel  day."  It  is  clear  as  the  sun. 
Presently  the  kingdom  of  stone  will  smite  the  beast, 
the  false  prophet,  and  apostate  Christendom,  and  itself 
become  a  great  mountain  and  fill  the  whole  earth. 
Then  it  will  be  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners.  That 
is  the  millennium.  Then  iniquity  shall,  as  ashamed, 
hide  its  head.  But  the  tares  and  the  wheat  grow  to- 
gether till  the  harvest.  Righteousness  shall  triumph 
over  wickedness  for  a  thousand  years,  but  not  exter- 
minate it.  The  kingdom  will  continue  unchanged  un- 
til the  end  of  the  world. 

"Then  cometh  the  end,  when  he  shall  have  deliv- 
ered up  the  kingdom  to  God,  even  the  Father,"  i.  e., 
not  only  give  an  account  of  his  stewardship,  present 
the  kingdom  to  the  Father  for  the  purpose  of  judicial 
investigation,  but  bring  it  to  an  end  in  its  present  form. 
"But  while  there  will  be  a  change  of  form,  and  a  ter- 
mination of  not  a  few  things  now  going  on  in,  and  now 
characterizing  the  kingdom;  while  the  mode  of  admin- 
istration may  change  at  the  resurrection  and  final 
judgment,  the  King  and  his  kingdom  will  remain  the 


CHILI  ASM.  367 


same.  "Christ  will  continue  the  Lamb  upon  the  throne. 
"His  mediatorial  person  will  be  the  eternal  seat  of 
Divine  manifestation;  the  medium  of  communication 
between  the  Unseen  One  and  all  heaven,  and  the  very 
prop  of  the  eternal  system.  He  will  ever  be  the  eter- 
nal and  immutable  head  of  his  glorified  body." 

VII.  //  is  expressly  said  in  Scripture  that  the  Heavens 
must  -receive  him,  "until  the  times  of  restitution  of  all 
things,  which  God  hath  spoken  by  the  mouth  of  all  his 
holy  prophets  since  the  world  began."  Whether  we 
understand  the  "restitution"  here  meant  of  a  moral  or 
^physical  restitution  or  both,  considered  as  the  burden 
of  all  Old  Testament  prophecy,  and  requiring  complete 
accomplishment  ere  Christ  can  come,  the  words  of  the 
Apostle  are  clearly  subversive  of  a  millennial  state  after 
Christ  comes.  "If  but  one  soul  should  be  converted 
after  Christ's  descension  from  heaven,  then  must  he 
come  before  the  restitution  of  all  things,  which  is  quite 
contrary  to  the  text;  because  the  heaven  must  receive 
him,  or  retain  him  until  then."  The  Church  will  be 
absolutely  complete  at  Christ's  coming.  "But  each 
party  in  his  own  order:  Christ  the  first  fruits;  after- 
wards they  that  are  Christ's  at  his  coming. "  The  fed- 
eral head  is  the  first  fruits;  all  who  are  federally  re- 
lated to  him  (the  full  harvest  of  them)  at  his  coming. 
"Christ  also  loved  the  Church,  and  gave  himself  for  it 
that  he  might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it  with  the  washing 
of  water  by  the  Word,  that  he  might  present  it  to 
himself  a  glorious  Church,  not  having  spot  or  wrinkle, 
or  any  such  thing;  but  that  it  should  be  holy  and  with- 
out blemish."  .  .  "To  the  end  he  may  establish  your 


368  RE  FORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

hearts  unblameable  in  holiness  before  God,  even  our 
Father,  at  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  witH 
all  his  saints."  "In  these  passages  we  have,  the  abso- 
lute completeness  of  the  Church  at  Christ's  coming;  the 
spotless  purity  in  which  it  will  be  presented  "as  a 
chaste  virgin"  to  Christ;  the  resplendent  glory  in  which, 
as  "the  bride,  the  Lamb's  wife,"  she  shall  then  be 
"adorned  for  her  husband;"  \hepraise  that  will  redound 
from  such  a  spectacle  to  the  Redeemer  himself;  the 
rapturous  adoration  of  him  which  .it  will  kindle,  and 
the  ineffable  complacency  with  which  the  whole  will  be 
regarded  by  "God,  even  the  Father."  This  is  the  res- 
titution of  all  things,  at  which  Christ  will  come  again." 
— Dr.  Brown.  When  this  grand  temple  of  mercy,  which 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  been  erecting  through  the 
ages  for  his  own  eternal  abode  shall  have  been  com- 
pleted, when  the  last  living  stone  shall  have  been  built 
into  its  walls,  then  will  the  New  Testament  Zerubbabel 
bring  forth  the  head-stone  of  the  corner,  arid  lay  it 
amid  the  shoutings  of  a  jubilant  universe:  "Grace,  grace, 
unto  it!" 

VIII.  The  changes  that  are  to  take  place  in  the  phys- 
ical world  are  entirely  inconsistent  with  the  pre-mil- 
lennial  theory.  2  Peter:  iii,  7,  10-13;  Rev.,  xx:  II, 
and  Rev.  xxi:i,  describe  a  conflagration  to  take  place 
when  Christ  appears  the  second  time,  which  it  is  utterly 
inconceivable  should  occur  before  the  millennium. 
Turn  to  the  description  of  the  world's  condition  in  the 
latter  day.  Earth  and  sea  are  precisely  where  they 
were  and  what  they  were;  not  a  place  disappears,  not 
a  feature  of  any  thing  is  changed.  Not  to  speak  of 


CHILIASM. 


Assyria  and  Egypt,  Elam  and  Shinar,  Pathros  and 
Cush,  Hamath  and  the  islands  of  the  sea — the  borders 
of  Palestine  are  given  with  the  minutest  geograph- 
ical and  topographical  precision,  as  if  nothing  had 
happened  to  disturb  them.  Mount  Zion  is  still  the 
mount  it  ever  was;  and  Engedi,  and  En-eglaim,  and 
"the  way  of  Hethlon,  as  men  go  to  Zedad,"  and  Gil- 
ead,  and  Jordan,  and  the  waters  of  strife  in  Kadish 
and  the  Great  Sea.  and  every  place  as  it  was.  Nay, 
what  may  be  called  the  meteorological  features  of 
every  country  remain  precisely  as  before.  Any  nation 
of  the  earth  not  coming  up  to  Jerusalem  to  worship, 
upon  them  is  to  be  no  rain.  But,  "whereas,  the  fam- 
ily of  Egypt  have  no  rain" — their  land  being  watered 
by  the  bounteous  Nile — some  other  plague  is  to  visit 
them.  "If  the  family  of  Egypt  go  not  up,  that  have 
no  rain,  there  shall  be  the  plague,  wherewith  the  Lord 
shall  smite  the  heathen,"  etc.  Not  only  will  the  phys- 
ical condition  of  the  earth,  and  all  that  contributes  to 
make  or  keep  it  what  it  is,  be  unaffected,  but  the  in- 
habitants likewise.  We  find  Jews  and  Gentiles  trans- 
acting their  affairs,  secular  and  religious,  precisely  as 
before,  and  without  the  briefest  interruption.  How 
are  we  to  reconcile  these  facts  with  the  conflagration 
spoken  of  by  Peter  and  John — the  heavens  shall  be  on 
fire,  the  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent  heat,  the 
earth  also,  and  the  works  that  are  therein  shall  be 
burned  up,  when  Christ  comes? 

We  have  presented  a  few  of  the  leading  objections 
to  pre-millennialism.  Some  may  think  it  an  idle  task. 
"Some  may  think  it  of  small  consequence  whether  this 


370  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

system  be  true  or  false;  but  no  one  who  will  intelli- 
gently survey  its  nature  and  bearings  can  be  of  that 
opinion.  Pre-millennialism  is  no  barren  speculation — 
useless  though  true,  and  innocuous  though  false.  It  is 
a  school  of  Scripture  interpretations;  it  impinges  upon 
and  affects  some  of  the  most  commanding  points  of 
the  Christian  faith;  and  when  suffered  to  work  its  own 
unimpeded  way,  it  stops  not  till  it  has  pervaded  with 
its  own  genius  the  entire  system  of  one's  theology  and 
the  whole  tone  of  his  spiritual  character,  constructing, 
I  had  almost  said,  a  world  of  its  own;  so  that,  holding 
the  same  faith  and  cherishing  the  same  fundamental 
hopes  as  other  Christians,  he.  yet  sees  things  through 
a  medium  of  his  own,  and  finds  everything  instinct 
with  the  life  which  this  doctrine  has  generated  within 
him." — Dr.  Brown,  "  Second  Advent."  Such  a  system 
should  be  shunned.  "Avoid  it,  pass  not  by  it;  turn 
from  it  and  pass  away." 


CHAPTER    XX. 


THE   MILLENNIUM. 
Rev.  20:4. — "And  they  lived  and  reigned  with  Christ  a  thousand  years." 

In  the  previous  part  of  this  book  the  vision  of  the 
seer  is  occupied  with  the  opening  of  seals,  the  pouring 
out  of  vials,  the  blasting  of  trumpets,  all  of  which 
brought  blood,  and  fire,  and  vapor  of  smoke,  misery, 
lamentations  and  woe  upon  the  human  family.  Now 
the  scene  changes,  and  a  thousand  years  of  rest  and 
prosperity  ensue.  This  rest  period  is  introduced  by 
the  binding  of  Satan.  What  is  meant  by  binding 
Satan?  Are  we  to  suppose  that  a  literal  angel  will 
descend  from  heaven  with  a  literal  chain  in  his  hand 
and  will  lay  hold  on  a  literal  dragon  and  bind  him, 
and  with  a  literal  key  will  unlock  a  literal  bottomless 
pit  and  cast  him  into  it,  shut  him  up  and  set  a  literal 
seal  upon  him?  Such  literalism  would  not  well  ex- 
plain the  opening  of  the  pit  in  the  ninth  chapter. 
This  is  figurative  language,  referring  to  Satan's  loss  of 
power  and  the  restraints  put  upon  him.  Is  it  a  total 
cessation  of  Satanic  influence?  No,  for  there  will  be 
sinners  in  the  world  then,  and  "he  that  committeth  sin 
is  of  the  devil" — i.  e.,  is  actuated  by  him  in  all  the  sin 
which  he  cherishes  and  commits.  Christ  has  con- 
quered Satan  on  the  field  of  law,  but  not  on  the  field 
of  fact.  Satan  will  not  be  stripped  of  all  his  power 


372  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

until  the  judgment.  "The  last  enemy  that  shall  be 
destroyed  is  death."  And  so  long  as  Satan  has 
power,  and  so  long  as  there  is  a  sinner  on  the  earth 
for  him  to  actuate,  his  influence  will  not  wholly  cease. 
What,  then,  does  his  binding  mean?  It  means  the 
destruction  of  his  party  on  the  earth,  bringing  to  an 
end  all  his  organized  opposition  to  the  church.  Here 
we  tread  in  the  pathway  of  Dr.  Brown  in  his  great 
work,  "The  Second  Advent."  In  chapter  2,  it  is  said 
of  Pergamos,  that  "Satan's  seat,"  or  "throne  was 
there,"  and  that  "there  Satan  dwelt."  This  certainly 
refers  to  the  powerful  party  which  Satan  had  in  that 
place,  and  the  dominant  influence  which,  through 
them,  he  exercised  in  opposition  to  the  gospel.  Then 
the  unseating  or  dethroning  of  Satan  in  Pergamos,  his 
banishment  from  "where  he  dwelt,"  would  not  mean 
the  total  cessation  of  his  influence  in  that  city,  but  just 
the  destruction  of  the  party  which  represented  him, 
and  did  his  work  in  opposing  the  gospel  there.  In 
chapter  12:7-12,  we  have  a  graphic  description  of  the 
conflict  between  Rome  pagan  and  the  Church.  What- 
ever we  may  say  respecting  Milton's  unseen  battle- 
fields, and  the  fierce  conflict  between  Christ  and  his 
angels  and  Satan  and  his  angels,  this  conflict  is  be- 
tween Rome  pagan  and  the  Church. 

1.  Christ  is  represented  by  the  Church,  and  Satan 
by  the  Roman  pagan  empire. 

2.  When  Satan  was  cast  out,  neither  was  place  found 
any  more  in  heaven  for  him,  it  does  not  mean  a  total 
cessation  of  his  influence,  but   only  the  destruction  of 
his  party. 


THE  MILLENNIUM.  373 

3.  When  a  loud  voice  proclaimed  that  salvation  had 
come,  it  does  not  mean  that  salvation  was  never  known 
in  the  world  prior  to  that  time,  but  simply  the  ascend- 
ency of  Christ's  party,  Christianity  ascending  the  throne 
of  the  Caesars  and  becoming  the  dominant  influence. 

4.  The  phraseology  here  is  the  same  as  in  the  twen- 
tieth  chapter,  only   less   grand.      "The   great   dragon 
was  cast  out,  that  old   serpent,  called  the  Devil  and 
Satan,  which  deceiveth  the  whole  world." 

5.  When  "he  was  cast  out  into  the  earth,"  it  does  not 
mean  that  he  went  to  the  individuals  to  try  to  destroy 
their  souls.     It  means  that  since  his  paganistic  party 
had  been  dissolved  he  betook  himself  to  the  provinces 
to  try  to  form  a  new  party. 

6.  This  casting  out  of  Satan  was   accomplished   by 
the  saints.     "They  overcame  him  by  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb,  and    by  the    word  of  their  testimony."     The 
casting  out  of  Satan  means  the  overthrow  of  his  party 
when  Rome  pagan  became  Christian. 

In  the  thirteenth  chapter  we  have  the  beast  having 
seven  heads — the  seven-hilled  city  of  Rome;  and  ten 
horns — the  ten  kingdoms  of  Europe.  This  beast  re- 
ceived its  power  from  Satan.  Satan  turns  Christian  to 
destroy  Christianity.  He  betrays  it  with  a  kiss.  This 
is  that  heaven-blaspheming,  Christ-dishonoring,  and 
soul-destroying  system  that  wore  out  the  saints  for 
ten  long  centuries,  strewing  the  mountains  and  valleys 
of  Europe  with  the  bodies,  and  soaking  her  sods  with 
the  blood  of  the  martyred.  It  is  popery.  To-day  it  is 
a  marvelous  power.  A  writer  in  the  Nineteenth  Cen- 
tury for  January,  1888,  says:  "The  Pope  is  the  re- 


374  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

ligious  head  of  225,000,000,  who  form  the  larger  part 
of  the  modern  democracy.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the 
civil  powers  of  the  world  are  for  the  most  part  in  direct 
relations  with  the  Holy  See.  All  the  great  States  of 
the  Continent  accredit  embassadors  or  ministers  to  the 
Vatican.  Fifteen  different  Governments  treat  diplo- 
matically with  the  Pope,  and  even  distant  China  and 
Japan  desire  to  establish  relations  with  him."  In  the 
nineteenth  chapter  the  decisive  conflict  between  this 
beast  and  the  Church  is  depicted,  in  which  the  latter 
gains  a  signal  victory  over  the  former,  and  casts  him 
alive  into  the  lake  of  fire  burning  with  brimstone — i.  e.^ 
completely  annihilates  Satan's  party.  In  the  sixth 
book  of  "Paradise  Lost,"  Milton  describes  the  battle 
between  Michael  and  his  angels  and  Satan  and  his 
angels.  Millions  of  spirits  are  on  either  side.  All 
day  long  the  conflict  rages.  Night  closes  upon  them. 
Although  Satan  is  worsted,  neither  is  finally  victorious. 
On  the  second  day  the  legions  of  darkness  bring  out 
horrible  engines  and  hurl  chain-shot  into  the  ranks  of 
heaven.  The  bright  angels  pluck  up  mountains  and 
overwhelm  the  forces  and  the  machines  of  Satan.  The 
day  closes  with  the  forces  on  both  sides  resting  on 
their  arms.  On  the  third  day  the  Messiah  appears, 
riding  in  his  chariot  of  fire. 

"Under  his  burning  wheels, 
The  steadfast  empyean' shook  throughout." 

He  drove  .upon  his  impious  foes.  He  rode  "o'er 
shields  and  helms  and  helmed  heads."  He  "drove 
them  before  him  to  the  bounds  aud  crystal  walls  of 
heaven" — "headlong  themselves  they  threw  down  from 


THE  MILLENNIUM.  375 

the  verge  of  heaven;  eternal  wrath  burnt  after  them 
to  the  bottomless  pit." 

The  forces  of  evil  are  arrayed  against  the  sacra- 
mental host  in  our  country.  The  shock  of  the  first 
day's  battle  was  felt  in  1861  in  the  War  of  the  Rebel- 
lion.  The  second  day's  battle  is  now  going  on  over 
the  liquor  traffic,  Sabbath  desecration,  speedy  and  easy 
divorce,  etc.  Though  armed  "with  mountains,  as  with 
weapons,"  the  battle  has  been  a  "drawn  one."  The 
third  day  will  reveal  the  Prince  Messiah.  He  must 
bear  the  glory  of  victory. 

"Two  days  are,  therefore,  past,  the  third  is  thine; 
For  thee  I  have  ordained  it;  and  thus  far 
Have  suffer'd,  that  the  glory  may  be  thine 
Of  ending  this  great  war,  since  none  but  thou 
Can  end  it.     Into  thee  such  virtue  and  grace 
Immense  I  have  transfused,  that  all  may  know 
In  heaven  and  hell  thy  power  above  compare: 
And  this  perverse  commotion  govern'd  thus, 
To  manifest  thee  worthiest  to  be  Heir 
Of  all  things;  to  be  Heir  and  to  be  King 
By  sacred  sanction,  thy  deserved  right. 
Go,  then,  thou  Mightiest,  in  thy  Father's  might, 
Ascend  my  chariot,  guide  the  rapid  wheels 
That  shake  heaven's  basis,  bring  forth  all  my  war, 
My  bow  and  thunder;  my  almighty  arms 
Gird  on,  and  sword  upon  thy  puissant  thigh; 
Pursue  these  sons  of  darkness,  drive  them  out 
From  all  heaven's  bounds  into  the  utter  deep; 
There  let  them  learn,  as  likes  them,  to  despise 
God,  and  Messiah,  his  anointed  King." 

This  is  the  binding  of  Satan.  It  is  done  by  the 
saints.  Satan  is  the  strong  man  occupying  the  house 
of  this  world.  Christ  is  the  stronger  than  he.  Through 
the  instrumentality  of  his  church  Christ  binds  Satan 


376  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

and  spoils  his  goods.  As  soon  as  the  strong  man  is 
bound  the  stronger  has  possession.  This  is  the  Mil- 
lennium. "During  the  Millennium  the  cause  of  Christ 
shall  carry  it  everywhere,  and  Satan  shall  be  allowed 
no  lodgment  in  any  spot  on  the  globe  to  form  a  public 
party  in  opposition  to  Christ;  in  this  sense,  his  trade 
will  be  at  an  end;  representatives  and  tools  for  doing 
his  work,  he  will  have  none;  as  if  men  should  wonder 
where  he  was,  and  go  in  search  of  him,  but  find  him 
nowhere;  he  has  been  swept  off  the  stage.  "  (See  Dr. 
Brown  on  "Second  Advent.") 

WHAT    IS   THE   MILLENNIUM  ? 

I.  It  is  not  a  state  of  unmixed  righteousness.  Pre- 
millennarians  say,  It  will  be  a  period  of  sinless  perfec- 
tion. "There  shall  be  no  more  sin.  All  the  then  in- 
habitants of  the  earth  shall  be  holy.  All  shall  love 
God,  and  serve  God,  so  that  his  will  shall  then  be  done 
on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven."  And  they  appeal  for 
proof  to  the  parable  of  the  tares.  "The  tares  must  be 
removed  previous  and  preparatory  to  the  millennium. 
The  season  of  the  removal  of  the  tares  is  the  harvest. 
The  harvest  is  the  period  of  the  Lord's  coming  with 
the  holy  angels.  Consequently  the  Lord's  coming  must 
be  previous  and  preparatory  to  the  Millennium."  On 
this  we  remark: 

1.  The  parables  span  the  whole  interval   between 
Christ's  coming  to  put  away  sin,  and  his  second  com- 
ing to  judge  the  world. 

2.  The  parables  present  all  the  different  phases  of 
Christ's  kingdom  throughout  this  period.     "The  para- 
ble of  the  Sower  teaches  who  are  the  genuine  subjects 


THE  MILLENNIUM.  377 

of  the  kingdom;  the  parables  of  the  Treasure  and  of 
the  Pearl  teach  the  priceless  value  of  the  blessings  of 
his  kingdom;  the  parables  of  the  Mustard  seed  and  of 
the  Leaven  teach  its  progressive  advancement  in  the 
world;  while  the  parables  of  the  Tares  and  of  the  Net 
teach  of  the  present  mixture,  and  the  future  absolute 
separation  of  the  righteous  and  the  wicked  in  the  king- 
dom." Now,  as  the  growing  character  of  the  king- 
dom, taught  by  the  "mustard  seed,"  and  the  penetrat- 
ing and  assimilating  character,  taught  by  the  "leaven," 
go  on  "till  the  whole  (earth)  is  leavened,"  and  all  the 
world  have  been  brought  to  lodge  in  the  branches  of 
the  mighty  tree  of  life,  these  parables  must,  of  course, 
take  in  the  Millennium,  if  there  is  to  be  one  at  all. 

3.  The  separation  of  the  tares  from  the  wheat  is  ab- 
solute and  final.  The  tares  (wicked)  are  to  be  gath- 
ered into  bundles  and  burned.  Nothing  more  is  ever 
heard  of  them.  Their  doom  is  fixed  and  eternal.  The 
righteous  shine  forth  as  the  sun  in  the  kingdom  of  the 
Father  eternally. 

II.  //  is  not  a  revival  of  Jewish  peculiarities.  Says 
Mr.  Fry,  "Zion  and  Jerusalem  are  to  be  the  great 
source  of  spiritual  blessedness  to  the  whole  world. 
This  'City  of  Jehovah'  is  represented  as  the  grand  cen- 
ter and  emporium  of  civil  and  religious  power,  whither 
all  nations  resort  for  their  laws  and  government.  All 
the  various  offerings  of  the  Levitical  economy,  not  only 
'peace-offerings,'  and  'meat-offerings,'  but  'burnt-offer- 
ings,' 'trespass-offerings,'  and  'sin-offerings'  are  en- 
joined." Mr.  H.  Bonar  exclaims:  "Why  should  not 
the  temple,  the  worship,  the  rites,  the  sacrifices,  be  al- 


378  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

lowed  to  point  to  the  Lamb  that  was  slain  in  the  Mil- 
lennial age,  if  such  be  the  purpose  of  the  Father? 
How  needful  will  such  retrospection  be  then,  especially 
to  Israel?  How  needful,  when  dwelling  in  the  blaze 
of  a  triumphant  Messiah's  glory,  to  have  ever  before 
them  some  memorial  of  the  cross,  some  palpable  record 
of  the  humbled  Jesus,  some  visible  exposition  of  his 
sin-bearing  work  (i.  *.,  by  the  sacrificing  of  beasts,  as 
of  old),  in  virtue  of  which  they  have  been  forgiven,  and 
saved,  and  loved?"  On  this  we  observe: 

1.  Such  literalism  is  wholly  untenable.     The  law  is 
to  go  forth  of  Zion,  and  the  word  of  the  Lord  from  Je- 
rusalem.    According  to  them  this  law  and  word  refer 
to  new  revelations  of  the  Divine  will,  to  be  made  a.t  the 
Messiah's    second    coming.      What    then    becomes  of 
Christianity's  law,  its  word  of  the  Lord,  its  New  Tes- 
tament?    It  is   not  here   at   all.      It   is   yet   to    come. 
What   Christian  can  accept  such  a  doctrine?     More: 
The   Gentile   nations  shall   go   up    to  Jerusalem  "from 
year  to  year,"  and  "from  one  new  moon  to  another," 
yea,  "from  one  Sabbath  to  another.  "    This  is  physically 
impossible. 

2.  It  is  expressly  declared  that  Christ  has  abolished 
the  law  of  commandments  contained  in  ordinances,  and 
has   broken  down   the   middle   wall   of  partition,   be- 
tween Jew  and  Gentile,  and  that  "in  everyplace"  "the 
true  worshipers  shall  worship  the  Father  in  Spirit  and 
and  in  truth." 

3.  It  is  putting  a  stumbling  block  in  the  way  of  the 
Jews,  to  admit  that  the  restoration   of  sacrifices,   after 
they  have  been  done  away  in  Christ,  can  be  in  accord- 


THE  MILLENNIUM.  379 

ance  with  the  will  of  God.  These  rites  and  ceremo- 
nies were  a  burden,  which  neither  they  nor  their  fath- 
ers could  bear.  These  weak  and  beggarly  elements 
could  not  make  the  comers  thereunto  perfect.  "And 
a  most  loathsome  work  do  they  perform,  both  to  God 
and  man,  that  dig  up  the  ceremonies  out  of  that  grave 
where  Jesus  Christ  buried  them  more  than  eighteen 
hundred  years  ago." 

4.  It  is  contrary  to  the  genius  of  Christianity. 
Christ's  kingdom  is  spiritual,  and  in  it  there  is  no 
place  for  the  carnal. 

III.  It  is  just  the  f tdl  development  of  the  kingdom  of 
grace  in  its  earthly  state.  "The  more  common  opin- 
ion," says  Dr.  McNeil,  "is,  that  this  is  the  final  dis- 
pensation, and  that  by  a  more  copious  outpouring  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  it  will  magnify  itself,  and  swell  into 
universal  blessedness,  predicted  by  the  prophets,  car- 
rying with  it  Jews  and  Gentiles,  even  the  whole  world, 
in  one  glorious  flock,  under  one  Shepherd,  Jesus  Christ 
the  Lord.  This  is  reiterated  from  pulpit,  press  and 
platform.  It  is  the  usual  climax  of  missionary  exhor- 
tation, or  rather  missionary  prophecy."  In  Daniel, 
2nd  chapter,  the  little  stone  smites  Nebuchadnezzar's 
image,  and  itself  becomes  a  great  mountain,  filling  the 
who]e  earth.  The  stone  and  the  mountain  are  not 
two  kingdoms,  but  one.  The  oak  is  not  different  from 
the  plant  from  which  it  sprang  in  kind,  but  in  degree. 
The  man  and  child  are  not  different  in  kind  but  only 
in  development.  "The  difference  between  the  two 
states  of  the  kingdom  represented  in  the  version — its 
state  before  and  its  state  during  the  Millennium,  is  not 


380  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

a  difference  of  dispensation  or  organic  form,  but  merely 
of  prosperity  and  extent.  Living  Christianity  will  soon 
exercise  the  sovereignty  of  the  world.  This  is  the  mis- 
sion of  the  church — the  kingdom  of  the  stone.  Going 
forth  in  her  life-giving,  all-penetrating,  all-transform- 
ing virtue,  she  moulds  the  institutions  and  affairs  of 
men  into  her  own  blessed  character,"  making  "God's 
will  to  be  done  on  earth,  even  as  it  is  done  in  heaven. '* 

WHAT   ARE    THE    LEADING    FEATURES    OF   THE    MILLENNIUM  ? 

I.  God's  revealed  truth  will  be  universally  diffused. 
Newton,   the    great  philosopher,  said,  "I  seem  to  be 
like  a  little  child  who  has  gathered  a  few  pebbles  along 
the  shore,  while  the  great  ocean  of  truth  lies  undiscov- 
ered  before    me. "     Take  the  map   of  the  world  and 
mark  those   localities   where   the   gospel  is  universally 
diffused,  and  you  will  be  surprised  at   their   fewness,, 
while  the   great  world  is  a  moral  waste.     It  is  like  a 
county  in  a  State,  little  Rhode  Island  in  the  United 
States.      But   in    the    Millennium,    the    knowledge   of 
God's  truth  will  be  universal.     "The  earth  shall  be  full 
of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters  cover  the 
(bed  or  channel  of  the)  sea."     A  bold  and  expressive 
figure.     As  the  waters  cover  every  mountain,  and  val- 
ley,   and    cave,  and  grotto   in   the   ocean  bed,  so  the 
knowedge  of  the  Lord  shall  extend  to  all  localities  of 
the  globe. 

II.  There  will  be  unlimited  submission  to  the  scepter 
of  Jesus  Christ.     Paganism,  with    its   gigantic   lie  of 
heathen  worship,  and  the  dark  catalogue  of  its  heca- 
tombs,  human   sacrifices,  prostitutions,  emasculations,, 
funeral  piles,  etc.,  will  be   utterly  abolished;  Moham- 


THE  MILLENNIUM.  381 

med's  lustful  superstition,  which  has  chained  millions 
to  Satan's  chariot  wheels,  will  be  brought  to  an  end; 
obdurate  and  hard-hearted  Judaism,  with  the  curse  of 
God  on  it  removed;  "the  soul-destroying  errors,  blas- 
phemous superstitions,  idolatrous  rites  and  cruel  des- 
potism of  Popery,  which  have  sat  like  an  incubus  upon 
Christendom  for  ages,  together  with  all  deadly  here- 
sies, and  professed  infidelity,  will  be  swept  away." 
The  Church  of  Christ  will  be  established  in  the  tops  of 
the  mountains  and  exalted  above  the  hills.  He  whose 
right  it  is  to  reign  will  take  to  himself  his  great  power. 
The  seventh  angel  will  sound,  and  there  will  be  voices 
in  heaven,  saying,  "The  sovereignty  of  the  world  hath 
become  our  Lord's  and  his  Christ's,  and  he  shall  reign 
forever  and  ever." 

III.  There  will  be  universal  peace.  The  history  of 
the  world  has  been  written  in  blood.  Nation  has 
dashed  against  nation,  until  blood  flowed  even  unto  the 
horses'  bridles.  But  the  time  is  soon  coming  when 
nations  will  no  longer  resort  to  the  dread  arbitrament 
of  war.  The  Congress  of  Nations,  in  which  the  quarrels 
between  nations  are  settled  by  arbitration,  is  the  har- 
binger of  universal  peace.  In  that  blessed  day,  "He 
shall  judge  between  the  nations  and  decide  for  many 
peoples;  and  they  shall  beat  their  swords  into  plough- 
shares, and  their  spears  into  pruning  hooks;  nation 
shall  not  lift  up  sword  against  nation,  neither  shall 
they  learn  war  any  more."  "The  wolf  shall  dwell  with 
the  lamb  and  the  leopard  shall  lie  down  with  the  kid; 
and  the  calf  and  the  young  lion  and  the  fatling  together; 
and  a  little  child  shall  lead  them.  And  the  cow  and 


REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 


the  bear  shall  feed;  their  young  ones  shall  lie  down  to- 
gether; and  the  lion  shall  eat  straw  like  the  ox.  And  the 
sucking  child  shall  play  on  the  hole  of  the  asp, 
and  the  weaned  child  shall  put  his  hand  on  the  ser- 
pent's den.  They  shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy  in  all  my 
holy  mountain."  "The  selfish/'  says  Scott,  "the  penu- 
rious, the  rapacious,  the  contentious,  the  ambitious, 
the  savage,  the  subtle,  and  the  malicious,  would  lose 
their  peculiar  base  dispositions,  and  become  harmless, 
sincere,  peaceable,  benevolent,  and  affectionate;  they 
would  live  together  in  harmony,  hearken  to  instruction, 
and  be  guided  by  gentle  persuasion  and  entreaties.  So 
that  the  change  would  be  as  evident  and  surprising  as 
if  the  wolf,  the  tiger,  the  lion,  the  bear,  and  other  fierce, 
carniverous  animals  should  learn  to  be  gentle  and  harm- 
less as  the  lamb,  the  kid,  the  calf,  or  the  cow;  and  to 
associate  with  them,  to  graze  the  pasture  as  they  do, 
or  to  feed  on  hay  and  straw,  and  would  be  so  tractable 
that  a  little  child  could  lead  them." 

IV.  The  work  of  grace  will  reach  its  full  glory. 
President  Edwards  thus  describes  the  state  of  the  little 
town  of  Northampton,  in  New  England,  during  the  re- 
vival which  visited  it  under  his  ministry:  "A  great, 
earnest  concern  about  the  great  things  of  religion  and 
the  eternal  world  became  universal  in  all  parts  of  the 
town  and  among  persons  of  all  degrees  and  ages;  the 
noise  among  the  dry  bones  waxed  louder  and  louder.  All 
other  talk  but  about  spiritual  and  eternal  things  was 
soon  thrown  by;  all  the  conversation  in  all  companies, 
and  upon  all  occasions,  was  about  these  things  only 
unless  what  was  necessary  for  carrying  on  their  ordi- 


THE  MILLENNIUM.  383 

nary  secular  business.  They  seemed  to  follow  their 
worldly  business  more  as  a  part  of  their  duty  than 
from  any  disposition  they  had  to  it.  The  only  thing 
in  their  view  was  to  get  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and 
every  one  appeared  to  be  pressing  into  it;  the  engaged- 
ness  of  their  hearts  in  this  great  concern  could  not  be 
hid;  it  appeared  in  their  very  countenances.-  In  1735 
the  town  seemed  to  be  full  of  the  presence  of  God:  it 
never  was  so  full  of  love  and  joy,  and  yet  so  full  of 
distress, -as  it  was  then.  There  were  remarkable  tokens 
of  God's  presence  in  almost  every  house.  It  was  a 
time  of  joy  in  families,  on  account  of  salvation  being 
brought  to  them;  parents  rejoicing  over  their  chil- 
dren as  new-born,  and  husbands  over  their  wives, 
and  wives  over  their  husbands.  The  goings  of  God 
were  seen  there  in  his  sanctuary;  God's  day  was  a  de- 
light and  his  tabernacles  were  amiable.  Those  amongst 
us  that  had  been  formerly  converted  were  greatly  enliv- 
ened and  renewed  with  fresh  and  extraordinary  visita- 
tions of  the  Spirit  of  God.  This  seems  to  have  been  a 
very  extraordinary  dispensation  of  Providence.  God  has 
in  many  respects  gone  out  of  and  much  beyond  his 
usual  and  ordinary  way."  Suppose  this  state  of  things 
should  spread  from  village  to  village,  from  county  to 
county,  from  state  to  state,  from  nation  to  nation,  from 
continent  to  continent,  until  the  whole  world  had  been 
quickened  and  transformed.  That  would  be  the  Mil- 
lennium. 

V.  God's  ancient  people,  tlie  Jews,  will  be  brought 
into  the  Church.  By  a  remarkable  providence  the 
Jews  have  been  preserved  through  the  ages  a  distinct 


384  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

people.  And  whether  it  be  the  Divine  purpose  to 
carry  them  back  to  their  own  land  or  not,  the  promise 
is  that  they  shall  all  be  converted.  God's  promises  to 
Abraham  secure  their  in-bringing.  "The  gifts  and 
calling  of  God  are  without  repentance."  "And  I  will 
pour  upon  the  house  of  David,  and  upon  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Jerusalem,  the  spirit  of  grace  and  supplication; 
and  they  shall  look  upon  me  whom  they  have  pierced, 
and  they  shall  mourn  for  him,  as  one  mourneth  for  his 
only  son,  and  shall  be  in  bitterness  for  him,  as  one 
that  is  in  bitterness  for  his  first-born.  In  that  day 
shall  there  be  a  great  mourning  in  Jerusalem,  as  the 
mourning  of  Hadadrimmon  in  the  Valley  of  Megiddon. 
In  that  day  there  shall  be  a  fountain  opened  to  the 
house  of  David  and  to  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  for 
sin  and  for  uncleanness."  What  a  glorious  promise! 
The  Jews*  are  now  not  only  naturally  but  judicially 
graceless.  Then  they  will  be  convinced,  humbled, 
heart-broken  at  the  sight  of  Jesus  whom  they  have 
pierced.  Dr.  Brown  remarks:  "O  what  an  unexam- 
pled mourning  will  that  be!  for  its  intensity — 'as  the 
mourning  of  Hadadrimmon;'  for  its  universality — 'the 
land  shall  mourn;'  for  its  individuality — 'all  the  fami- 
lies that  remain,  every  family  apart,  and  their  wives 
apart.'  But  the  most  glorious  feature  of  it  will  be  its 
evangelical  character.  It  will  be  the  pure  fruit  of  a 
believing  ''look  upon  him  whom  they  pierced.'  What 
a  blessed  prospect!  The  in-bringing  of  'all  Israel'  will 
characterize  that  day. "  The  Jews,  who  have  so  long 
been  sitting  by  the  rivers  of  Babylon,  with  their  harps 
hanging  in  the  midst  of  the  willows  thereof,  shall  re- 


THE  MILLENNIUM.  -  385 

turn  with  song  and  everlasting  joy  upon  their  heads  to 
Zion.  And  this  will  be  the  signal  for  the  bringing  in 
of  the  fullness  of  the  Gentiles. 

VI.  God's  law  will  be  the  supreme  standard  in  all 
human  affairs.      Justice  will  no  longer  be  outraged. 
The  cause  of  the  oppressed  will  no  longer  be  neglected. 
There  will  no  longer  be  a  premium  upon  vice.     Open 
violations  of  God's  law  will  no  longer  be  tolerated. 
The  Christian  will  no  longer  be  vexed  with  the  rum- 
bling of  railroad  trains  and  street  cars,  and  the  shrill 
whistling  of  the  steamboat  upon   the    Sabbath    day. 
Our  princes  shall  be  peace  and  our  exactors  righteous- 
ness.     "The  people  shall  be   all   righteous;  they  shall 
all  know  the   Lord   from  the  least  of  them   unto   the 
greatest  of  them;  they  shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy  in  all 
my  holy  mountain;   from  the  rising  of  the  sun   even 
unto  the  going  down  of  the  same,  my  name  shall  be 
great  among  the  Gentiles;  and  in  every  place  incense 
shall  be  offered   unto  my  name,  and  a  pure  offering; 
for  my  name  shall  be  great  among  the  heathen,  saith 
the  Lord  of  Hosts." 

VII.  There  will  be  great  temporal  prosperity.     The 
upright   and    pure   man   is   a   prosperous   man.      The 
moral  and  religious  community  is  a  prosperous  com- 
munity.    The  holy  nation  is  a  prosperous  nation.     The 
countless  treasures  that  are  squandered  now,  will  then 
be  turned  into  channels  of  usefulness.     The  $1,500,000,- 
000  that  were  spent  in  the  United  States  in  the   last 
year  for  intoxicating  drinks  will  be  given  to  the  poor, 
bringing  joy  and  sunshine  into  the  habitations  of  dis- 
tress.     The  $250,000,000  that   are  spent  annually  for 


386  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

tobacco  will  be  appropriated  to  increasing  the  wages 
of  stunted  hirelings.  In  that  day  there  shall  be  no 
poor.  The  strike  on  the  Schuylkill,  in  1888,  cost  em- 
ployer and  employe  about  $4,000,000.  It  was  inju- 
rious to  both.  This  conflict  between  the  laborer  and 
the  capitalist  must  be  settled  on  Christian  principles. 
A  pyramid  in  Egypt  took  360,000  men  twenty  years 
to  build  it.  At  the  present  rate  of  wages  it  would  cost 
$3,000,000,000.  The  royal  palace  in  Peru  took  20,000 
men  fifty  years  to  build  it.  The  palace  in  Mexico  took 
200,000  men  fifty  years  to  build  it.  The  wages  paid 
these  workmen  was  about  2  cents  a  day.  The  trades 
unions  must  beware  of  trying  to  make  taskmasters  of 
their  employers.  Christianity  makes  it  possible  for 
"the  rich  and  poor  to  meet  together."  All  shall  be 
happy  and  prosperous. 

"Men  grew  and  multiplied, 

But  lacked  not  bread;  for  God  his  promise  brought 
To  mind,  and  blessed  the  land  with  plenteous  rain, 
And  made  it  blessed  for  dews  and  precious  things 
Of  heaven,  and  blessings  of  the  deep  beneath, 
And  blessings  of  the  sun  and  moon  and  fruits 
Of  day  and  night,  and  blessings  of  the  vale, 
And  precious  things  of  the  eternal  hills, 
And  all  the  fullness  of  perpetual  spring. 
The  flocks  and  herds  o'er  hill  and  valley  spread 
Exulting,  cropped  the  ever-budding  herb. 
The  desert  blossomed,  and  the  barren  sung. 
Justice  and  mercy,  holiness  and  love 
Among  the  people  walked ;  Messiah  reigned, 
And  earth  kept  jubilee  a  thousand  years." 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


THE  BIBLE  GOD'S  LETTER  TO  THE  PEOPLE. 

Dr.  Harper,  of  Yale  College,  said,  in  a  lecture  on 
Syrian  monuments:  "These  monuments  contain  rec- 
ords of  very  ancient  date.  They  have  two  character- 
istics. They  abound  in  extravagant  expressions  of 
praise  to  their  emperors  and  are  full  of  accounts  of 
pillage  and  bloodshed."  He  quoted  several  which  are 
parallel  to  the  records  in  the  Books  of  Kings  of  the 
wars  against  Jeroboam,  the  son  of  Nebat,  against 
Ahab,  and  against  Hezekiah.  "You  can  recognize  them 
at  once  as  being  another  statement  of  what  the  Bible 
records."  Then  he  added:  "It  is  generally  said  that 
the  similarity  between  these  monumental  records  and 
the  Bible  proves  the  genuineness  of  the  Scriptures. 
But,  I  affirm,  that  their  unlikeness  proves  the  Bible  to 
be  divine.  The  spirit  discovered  in  the  Syrian  records 
is  pride,  while  that  in  the  Bible  is  humility.  The  ob- 
ject in  the  former  is  to  praise  men;  the  latter  gives  God 
the  glory. " 

Our  subject  assumes  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible,  its 
canonicity  and  its  miraculous  preservation  through  the 
ages.  It  recognizes  the  Scriptures  as  God's  Book — his 
letter  of  instruction  to  men;  and  that  it  is  such,  ap- 
pears. 

I.  From  its  adaptation  to  the  wants  of  the  human 
soid.  Certain  great  questions  arise  in  every  mind: 


388     .  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

From  whence  did  I  come,  and  whither  am  I  going? 
What  is  sin,  and  what  its  consequences?  What  is  the 
price  of  our  redemption  from  it?  What  is  wrong  with 
my  heart  that  it  is  as  natural  for  me  to  sin  as  for  the 
bee  to  sting  or  serpent  to  bite?  What  will  be  the 
difference  between  the  lot  of  the  righteous  and  that  of 
the  wicked  in  the  future  life?  These  inquiries  force 
themselves  upon  our  attention.  You  propose  them  to 
the  wise  men  of  the  earth,  the  philosophers,  the  scien- 
tists, the  historians,  the  statesmen,  the  poets,  or  the 
orators,  and  they  will  with  one  accord  confess,  We  can 
not  tell.  But  the  Bible  answers  these  questions  satis- 
factorily. Then,  upon  the  principle  of  adaptation,  the 
Bible  must  be  from  God.  Adaptation  proves  divinity 
of  origin.  Light  is  adapted  to  the  eye  and  the  eye  to 
light;  sound  to  the  ear  and  the  ear  to  sound;  food  to 
the  stomach  and  the  stomach  to  food;  birds  to  the  air 
and  the  air  to  birds;  fish  to  water  and  water  to  fish. 
God  made  it  so.  The  Bible  is  adapted  to  the  wants  of 
the  human  soul  and  the  human  soul  is  adapted  to  its 
revelations.  It  must  be  from  God. 

Dr.  Pierson  relates  that  while  he  was  pastor  in  De- 
troit, Michigan,  one  Sabbath  evening,  at  the  close  of 
the  service,  he  announced  that  he  would  be  glad  to 
meet  any  one  in  his  study  who  was  desirous  of  talking 
about  the  interests  of  his  soul.  When  he  went  back 
he  found  a  young  man  there,  perhaps  thirty  years  old. 
"Are  you  here  in  the  interests  of  your  soul?"  "Yes, 
if  I  have  one."  "Do  you  believe  there  is  a  God?" 
I  do  not  know  whether  there  is  or  not."  The  doctor 
thought  he  was  trifling,  and  said,  sharply:  "I  am  not 


GOD'S  LETTER  TO   THE  PEOPLE.     -  389 

here  to  be  trifled  with.  I  am  a  physician  of  souls;  if 
you  wish  my  services,  I  shall  be  glad  to  give  them. 
What  are  your  symptoms?"  "I  was  raised  in  a  Chris- 
tian home.  Some  years  since,  I  came  here  to  study 
medicine.  Surrounded  by  skeptical  companions,  I 
drifted  away.  This  evening  I  was  walking  along  the 
street  and  heard  the  music  in  your  church,  and  turned 
in  to  hear  it.  '  After  that  I  concluded  to  stay  and  hear 
you  preach.  Listening  to  your  sermon,  I  was  con- 
vinced that  you  are  a  man  who  believes  something. " 
"You  are  quite  right  there."  "And  your  belief  does 
you  a  great  deal  of  good."  "You  are  very  right  about 
that."  "Well,  I  believe  nothing  at  all,  and  I  am  the 
most  miserable  man  in  the  world."  "I  should  think 
you  would  be."  "Can  you  give  me  any  relief?"  "Will 
you  take  four  texts  and  go  home  and  study  them  until 
you  are  sure  you  know  their  meaning?"  "  I  will  do  it." 
These  four  verses  were  given :  "  Search  the  Scriptures; 
for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal  life;  and  they  are 
they  which  testify  of  me."  (John  v:  39.)  "When 
thou  prayest,  enter  into  thy  closet,  and  when  thou  hast 
shut  thy  door,  pray  to  thy  Father  which  is  in  secret; 
and  thy  Father  which  seeth  in  secret  shall  reward  thee 
openly."  (Matt,  vi:  6.)  "If  any  man  will  do  his  will, 
he  shall  know  the  doctrine,  whether  it  be  of  God,  or 
whether  I  speak  of  myself."  (John  vii:  17.)  "Come 
unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I 
will  give  you  rest."  (Matt,  xi:  28.)  Through  this 
word  he  found  the  Christ,  and  for  the  last  seven  years 
has  been  a  successful  preacher  of  his  gospel.  Besides 
the  five  senses  of  the  body,  there  are  two  additional — 


390  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

the  sense  of  the  intellect,  which  is  reason,  and  the 
sense  of  the  soul,  which  is  conscience.  Follow  the 
teachings  of  these  two  senses,  and  you  will  be  led  into 
the  kingdom.  "We  have  a  more  sure  word  of  proph- 
ecy, whereto  we  do  well  that  we  take  heed,  until  the 
day  dawn  and  the  day-star  arise  in  our  hearts." 

A  colporteur  was  one  day  making  his  way  up  a  nar- 
row street  in  London,  when  he  came  to  a  house  where 
the  stairs  ran  up  outside.  Making  his  way  to  the  land- 
ing, he  knocked,  and  the  door  was  opened  by  a  rough- 
looking  man.  Whiletalking  with  him  he  heard  a  faint 
voice  from  within:  "Have  you  that  book  that  tells  of 
the  blood  that  cleanseth  from  all  sin?"  Entering,  he 
found  this  man's  wife  lying  on  a  bed  of  straw,  in  the 
last  stages  of  consumption.  She  repeated  her  ques- 
tion, "Have  you  that  book?"  etc.  Talking  with  her 
he  soon  found  that  this  was  all  she  knew  about  the 
Bible.  One  day  she  had  heard  a  street  preacher  an- 
nounce those  words  as  his  text,  and  that  was  all  she 
knew.  He  took  his  Bible  and  read  I.  John  i. ,  and  then 
Isaiah  liii.  When  finished,  she  lifted  up  her  hands  and 
faintly  cried:  "Oh,  salvation  has  come  to  this  house. 
I  take  him;  I  take  him  as  he  is  offered  by  his  faithful 
ambassador." 

A  returned  missionary,  in  London,  one  Sabbath 
morning,  said  to  his  friend:  "I  am  going  to  Rag  Fair 
to-day."  "This  the  Sabbath,  you  should  not  go."  "I 
am  going  to  Rag  Fair  to-day."  "They  will  kill  you." 
"I  am  going  to  Rag  Fair  to-day."  "I  will  go  also." 
Now,  Rag  Fair  is  a  section  of  London  having  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  people.  In  the  midst  is  an  open 


GOD'S  LETTER  TO  THE  PEOPLE,      *  391 

area,  surrounded  by  a  high  inclosure.  Into  this  twenty- 
five  thousand  of  the  roughest  people  in  the  city  go  Sab- 
bath morning;  the  policemen  shut  the  gate,  and  they 
spend  the  day  in  carousing.  When  these  two  men  pre- 
sented themselves  at  the  gate,  the  policemen  said:  "If 
youbutton  up  your  coats  and  keep  your  lips  hermetically 
sealed,  you  may  come  out  alive."  They  entered  and 
commenced  preaching  Jesus,  and  before  the  day 
closed  many  were  changed  and  sat  at  the  feet  of  Jesus, 
clothed  and  in  their  right  minds. 

A  few  years  ago  a  section  in  New  York  City  was 
known  as  Five  Points.  It  was  so  low  that  people  said 
it  was  like  the  infernal  pit — the  bottom  had  fallen  out 
of  it.  The  city  missionaries  went  there  and  preached 
Christ.  As  a  result,  it  is  to-day  a  garden  of  righteous- 
ness; a  peaceful  and  pleasant  dwelling-place. 

Dr.  Alexander,  of  Princeton,  was  troubled  as  to  how 
he  should  preach  to  suit  his  hearers.  In  the  front  pew 
was  the  greatest  theologian  in  America,  Dr.  Charles 
Hodge,  and  in  the  gallery  a  poor  man  who  could  not 
read.  He  determined  to  preach  the  simple  word  of 
God.  Both  were  satisfied.  The  great  master  found 
an  heartful  in  the  message,  and  the  ignorant  and  un- 
learned man  found  an  heartful  in  it. 

"When  Robert  Moffat  proposed  to  go  to  Africaner, 
the  terrible  demon  of  the  Dark  Continent,  he  was 
warned  that  he  was  an  incarnate  fiend,  who  would  make 
a  virtue  of  cruelty,  and  would  murder  him  that  he 
might  make  a  drum  head  of  his  skin  and  a  drinking 
cup  of  his  skull.  But  Moffat  had  faith  in  the  gospel  of 
the  grace  of  God.  This  Hottentot  chief  had  been 


392  RE  FORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

driven  north  by  the  Dutch  -invaders  until,  taking  his 
refuge  beyond  the  Orange  River,  he  became  a  daring 
and  desperate  outlaw,  robbing  and  murdering  his  vic- 
tims, and  swaying  a  wide  region  with  the  iron  scepter 
of  terror.  The  colonial  governments  set  a  price  upon 
his  capture,  dead  or  alive,  and  hired  neighbor  chiefs 
to  make  war  upon  him;  but  in  vain.  In  1818  Moffat 
ventured  to  take  up  his  abode  with  Africaner.  A 
change  took  place  in  the  diabolical  ruffian,  so  com- 
plete that  it  was  a  new  creation.  The  man  who  com- 
bined in  himself  wolf,  bear,  leopard  and  lion,  was 
turned  into  a  lamb." 

"U.  Bor  Sing,  the  heir  of  the  Rajah  of  Cherra,  In- 
dia, was  converted  by  Welch  missionaries.  After  the 
death  of  Rahm  Sing,  the  chiefs  met  and  decided  that 
Bor  Sing  must  renounce  Christ  or  forfeit  the  throne. 
He  replied:  'Put  aside  my  Christian  profession!  I  can 
put  aside  my  head  dress  or  my  cloak:  but  as  for  the 
covenant  I  have  made  with  my  God,  I  can  not  for  any 
consideration  put  that  aside.'  Here  is  a  convert  re- 
jecting a  crown  for  Christ!" 

The  Bible  is  adapted  to  the  human  soul.  It  must  be 
from  God. 

II.  From  the  unity  of  the  book.  Here  is  a  volume 
made  up  of  sixty-six  different  books,  divided  just  like 
the  book  of  Isaiah.  The  first  thirty-nine  chapters  of 
that  book  are  historical,  the  last  twenty-seven  are 
prophetic.  The  first  thirty-nine  books  are  Old  Testa- 
ment, the  last  twenty-seven  are  New  Testament.  The 
Bible  was  written  by  some  forty-two  different  writers. 
They  lived  over  a  period  of  fifteen  hundred  years. 


GOD'S  LETTER  TO  THE  PEOPLE.  393 

They  were  in  different  localities.  They  used  at  least 
three  different  languages — Hebrew,  Aramaic  and 
Greek.  Some  wrote  in  poetry,  others  in  prose.  Some 
wrote  history,  others  biography,  and  others  didactic 
statement.  Some  wrote  gospels,  others  epistles,  prov 
erbs,  psalms,  prophecies.  Some  were  educated,  others 
were  ignorant  and  unlearned.  They  represented  ev- 
ery different  occupation.  Some  were  prophets,  others 
priests,  and  others  kings.  There  were  herdsmen  and 
shepherds  and  fishermen  and  mechanics  and  physicians 
and  lawyers  among  them.  And  yet  with  all  this  variety 
of  circumstances,  when  you  come  to  put  their  writings 
together  in  a  volume  called  the  Bible,  they  make  a  per- 
fect unit.  These  facts  can  not  be  explained  only  on  the 
supposition  that  a  Divine  mind  operated  through  these 
men  so  that  they  wrote  in  harmony.  "  Holy  men  of  God 
spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost. "  Sup- 
pose you  determine  to  put  up  a  building.  You  em- 
ploy forty-two  different  carpenters.  You  say  to  them: 
"You  must  go  to  your  shops  and  work  for  a  year.  No 
one  must  know  the  plan  the  other  is  working  upon,  or 
the  material  the  other  is  using,  or  the  part  of  the  build- 
ing the  other  is  preparing.  .  There  must  be  no  collu- 
sion. And  at  the  end  of  a  year,  without  any  consul- 
tation, you  must  come  and  put  your  work  together,, 
and  it  must  make  a  well-proportioned  house."  Does 
any  sane  man  suppose  it  would  go  together?  Not  one. 
And  yet  the  Bible — the  grand  temple  of  truth — was 
built  upon  those  conditions,  and  it  went  together,  mak- 
ing a  beautiful,  symmetrical  temple,  the  habitation 
of  our  God.  This  can  only  be  explained  on  the  sup- 


394  RE  FORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

position  that  a  Divine  Architect  executed  his  plan 
through  these  men.  "All  Scripture  is  given  by  in- 
spiration of  God. "  Nathaniel  Hawthorne  says:  "The 
Bible  is  a  grand  cathedral,  with  divinely  pictured  win- 
dows; standing  without,  you  can  see  no  beauty  nor 
possibly  can  imagine  any;  standing  within,  every  ray 
of  light  reveals  a  harmony  of  unspeakable  splendor." 
The  infidel  stands  outside  and  criticises.  He  does  not 
know  what  he  is  talking  about.  The  Bible  contains  a 
remedial  scheme,  and  only  those  who  have  tried  it  are 
qualified  to  bear  testimony.  "The  natural  man  re- 
ceiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit,  neither  can  he 
know  them;  but  he  that  is  spiritual  judgeth  all  things." 
A  man  is  brought  into  court  charged  with  murder. 
Some  one  comes  forward  to  give  testimony  against 
him.  The  judge  says:  "Are  you  acquainted  with  this 
man  charged  with  crime?"  "No,  I  am  not."  "Did 
you  see  him  commit  murder?"  "No,  I  did  not." 
"Have  you  any  knowledge  of  the  offense  charged 
against  him?"  "I  know  nothing  about  it."  "Well, 
why  are  you  here  as  a  witness  against  him?"  ''Why, 
I  feel  that  he  is  guilty.  "  "Oh,  you  go  away.  You 
are  no  witness  "  That  is  the  infidel  giving  testimony 
against  the  Bible.  He  is  exposing  his  own  ignorance, 
and  making  a  spectacle  of  himself. 

You  make  a  chart  of  the  Atlantic  coast,  marking  all 
the  sandbars,  rocks  and  shoals.  A  man  from  the  in- 
terior— from  beyond  the  Mississippi — who  never  saw 
the  ocean,  comes  forward  to  criticise  it.  He  says:  "I 
know  that  is  not  a  true  chart,  because  I  see  the  name 
of  Samuel  Jones  written  on  one  corner  and  I  can  prove 


GOD'S  LETTER   TO   THE  PEOPLE.  395 

that  he  did  not  make  it."  "Well,  what's  the  difference 
who  made  it?  The  question  is,  Is  it  a  true  chart?"  "I  am 
sure  it  is  not  a  true  chart,  because  1884  is  written  on 
another  corner,  and  I  can  prove  that  it  was  not  made 
until  1887."  "Well,  what's  the  difference  when  it  was 
made?  Is  it  a  true  chart?  Do  you  know?  Did  you 
ever  see  the  ocean?"  "No,  I  never  saw  the  ocean;  I 
know  nothing  of  the  localities  and  objects  marked." 
"Well,  you  had  better  go  back  beyond  the  Mississippi. 
You  do  not  know  what  you  are  talking  about."  That 
is  the  infidel  criticising  the  Bible.  He  talks  about  the 
"Mistakes  of  Moses,"  and  picks  flaws  in  names  and 
dates,  while  he  is  totally  ignorant  of  the  facts  in  the 
case.  On  the  other  hand,  an  old  sailor  comes  forward 
and  says:  ''That  is  a  true  chart.  I  have  been  all  along 
the  coast  hundreds  of  times.  I  have  seen  those  rocks 
and  sandbars  and  they  are  just  as  marked  on  the 
chart."  You  are  ready  to  listen  to  him.  He  under- 
stands what  he  is  talking  about.  That  is  the  Chris- 
tian giving  testimony  concerning  the  Bible.  Who  ever 
heard  of  a  mother,  on  her  death-bed,  calling  her  sons 
and  daughters  about  her  and  saying:  Thirty  years  ago 
I  accepted  of  the  Bible  as  God's  word.  But  I  was  de- 
ceived. Its  promises  are  false.  And,  with  my  dying 
breath,  I  wish  to  warn  you  against  it."  Where  can  you 
find  a  single  case  like  that  in  all  history?  But  how  many 
thousands  can  be  produced  on  the  other  side. 

Infidels  say:  "Christians  are  divided.  They  all  ac- 
cept the  Bible;  therefore  the  Bible  must  contradict 
itself."  Christians  are  divided  as  to  their  man-made 
creeds.  They  are  one  as  to  their  heaven-born  expe- 


396    .  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

riences  in  the  divine  life.  Toplady  and  Wesley  had  a  de- 
bate about  the  decrees.  The  discussion  was  heated, 
and  they  used  harsh  terms  in  designating  each  other. 
In  the  midst  of  that  debate,  Toplady  sat  down  and 

wrote: 

"Rock  of  Ages,  cleft  for  me, 
Let  me  hide  myself  in  thee." 

About  the  same  time,  Wesley  sat  down  and  wrote: 

. ,  "Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul, 

Let  me  to  thy  bosom  fly." 

Don't  you  see  ?  their  sentiments  were  the  same. 
They  were  divided  as  to  their  intellectual  views  of  a 
certain  doctrine.  But  their  heaven-born  experiences 
were  precisely  alike. 

Just  after  the  war,  a  colored  boy  down  near  New 
Orleans  was  converted.  He  tried  to  give  expression  to 
his  joy.  "Oh,  it  is  sweeter,  it  is  sweeter,  it  is  sweeter 
than  molasses."  You  say  that  is  crude.  Twenty-five 
hundred  years  before  David  wrote,  yonder  in  Judea: 
"It  is  sweeter  than  honey  and  the  honeycomb."  Their 
sentiments  were  precisely  alike.  The  only  difference 
is;  David  lived  in  a  honey  country  and  the  poor  colored 
boy  lived  in  a  molasses  country. 

III.  From  its  majesty  and  purity.  The  grandest 
imagery  of  the  poet,  the  greatest  flights  of  the  orator, 
and  the  deepest  conceptions  of  the  philosopher  bear  ho 
comparison  to  what  is  found  in  the  Bible.  It  is  written 
upon  a  plane  so  far  above  the  human  that  the  changing 
views  of  men  in  no  way  disturb  our  faith.  Our  fathers 
believed  that  the  sun  revolved  around  the  earth.  We 
know  that  the  earth  revolves  around  the  sun.  And 


GOD'S  LETTER  TO  THE  PEOPLE.  397 


the  faith  of  neither  was  shocked  or  disturbed.  It  is 
the  same  sun  that  you  see  from  the  summit  of  the 
mountain  or  the  deepest  valley.  So  it  is  the  same  Sun 
of  righteousness  that  we  see  in  the  firmament  of  the 
Word,  whether  seen  from  the  mountain-top  of  learning 
or  in  the  deep  valley  of  ignorance.  To  illustrate:  In 
the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  you  have  an  account  of 
creation.  The  waters  covered  the  face  of  the  deep. 
Then  the  waters  above  the  firmament  divided  from 
those  beneath.  Then  dry  land  appeared.  Next  veg- 
etable life;  followed  by  animal  life.  And  last  of  all, 
man — the  crown  of  creation.  This  is  precisely  the 
order  followed  by  the  most  approved  works  on  geol- 
ogy. Moses  was  a  heaven-taught  geologist.  Isaiah 
says  the  stars  of  heaven  are  innumerable,  like  the  sands 
of  the  sea.  Now  we  know  that  with  the  naked  eye 
not  more  than  two  thousand  stars  can  be  seen  at  once. 
In  the  whole  sweep  of  the  heavens  not  more  than  six 
thousand  stars  can  be  discerned  with  the  unaided  eye. 
They  are  not  innumerable  to  the  unhelped  observer. 
But,  with  a  powerful  telescope,  we  can  see  sixty  mil- 
lions of  stars,  and  we  have  the  clearest  evidence  that 
this  is  only  the  border  of  "the  vast  interminable  uni- 
verse." So  that  it  is  literally  true  that  the  stars  of 
heaven  are  innumerable  as  the  sand  of  the  sea.  Isaiah 
was  a  God-instructed  astronomer.  Scientists  tell  us 
that  light  is  simply  vibration.  Sound  is  vibration. 
Increase  the  vibrations  and  they  cease  to  be  audible. 
Then  they  become  visible,  first  in  the  seven  colors  of 
the  rainbow,  and  at  last  in  the  white  light.  So  that 
light  is  the  result  of  vibration.  Job  says:  "The  morn- 


398  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 


ing  stars  sang  together."  The  word  sing  means  "to 
vibrate."  "The  morning  stars  vibrated  together." 
Job  anticipated  our  modern  scientists  by  four  thousand 
years.  The  Bible  anticipates  the  human,  because  it  is 
divine. 

Its  purity  indicates  its  divinity.  No  code  of  morals 
will  compare  with  that  of  the  Bible.  When  Girard 
left  his  vast  property  to  maintain  a  college  for  orphans 
in  Philadelphia,  he  had  this  provision  in  the  will,  that 
the  best  code  of  morals  shall  be  taught.  The  Trustees 
decided  that  the  Bible  contains  the  best  code,  and  so 
the  Bible  is  taught.  Every  morning  at  eight  o'clock 
and  every  evening  at  five  o'clock  those  fourteen  hun- 
dred boys  are  gathered  in  the  chapel,  and  for  an  hour 
the  Bible  is  read  and  expounded  to  them.  Only  one 
charge  has  been  bmught  against  the  Bible  code — it 
contains  dark  pictures  of  vice  and  crime.  That  is  its 
special  excellence.  A  Jew  once  laid  a  plot  to  assas- 
sinate Martin  Luther.  A  friend  of  Luther  sent  him  a 
picture  of  the  Jew  and  warned  him  of  the  danger.  At 
the  designated  time  and  place  the  Jew  appeared  on  the 
scene.  Luther  recognized  him  and  kept  out  of  his 
presence,  and  so  saved  Kis  life.  The  Bible  has  given 
us  the  photograph  of  vice,  and  warned  us  of  the  snares 
it  has  laid  for  our  souls.  We  recognize  our  foe  when 
we  meet  it  and  escape  its  toils.  These  dark  pictures, 
instead  of  being  an  objection,  are  a  recommendation 
to  the  Bible;  they  are  signal-lamps  hung  out  in  the 
night  to  warn  us  against  a  pitfall;  they  are  the  light- 
houses in.  the  midst  of  the  angry  breakers  to  save  us 
from  the  rocks.  "Thy  word  is  a  lamp  to  my  feet."  I 


GOD*S  LETTER  TO  THE  PEOPLE.  399 

remember  on  the  farm  we  carried  a  lantern  when  it  was 
necessary  to  go  out  at  night,  It  did  not  illuminate  the 
whole  field,  only  a  small  space  about  us;  but  we  could 
take  the  next  step  in  safety.  As  we  advanced  the  light 
moved,  and  we  could  put  down  our  foot  in  the  light 
every  time  for  ten  miles.  "Thy  word  is  a  lamp  to  my 
feet."  Use  the  light  you  have  and  you  will  get  addi- 
tional light.  The  Savior  met  Saul  on  the  way  to 
Damascus.  Then,  if  ever,  we  would  expect  a  revela- 
tion of  the  future  course  to  be  pursued.  But,  no;  this 
was  all:  "Go  into  Damascus  and  it  shall  there  be  told 
thee  what  thou  shalt  do."  It  was  essential  to  obey  the 
command  to  go  into  the  city  before  he  would  get  any 
further  information.  Do  what  you  know  and  God  will 
give  additional  knowledge.  "If  any  man  will  do  his 
will,  he  shall  know  the  doctrine." 

IV.  From  t  lie  fulfillment  of  prophecy.  Joseph  Gour- 
ney  argued  before  the  mechanics  of  Manchester  in  this 
way:  If  you  had  a  very  complicated  lock,  like  in  some 
of  our  money  safes,  and  you  find  a  key  that  fits  it  per- 
fectly, you  conclude  that  the  key  was  made  for  the 
lock.  Now  the  correspondence  between  that  lock  and 
key  is  not  so  perfect  as  the  correspondence  between 
Old  Testament  prophecy  and  New  Testament  history 
respecting  Christ.  The  prophets  foretold  where  he 
would  be  born,  "In  Bethlehem  of  Judea;"  how  he 
would  be  received,  "A  by- word  and  laughing  stock;" 
how  he  would  be  betrayed  by  one  of  his  disciples  for 
"thirty  pieces  of  silver;  "how  he  would  be  condemned 
without  a  shadow  of  justice,  "his  judgment  is  taken 
away ; "  how  hisraiment  would  be  divided  among  the  sol- 


400  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLE'S. 


diers  and  upon  his  vesture  they  would  cast  lots;  how  he 
would  die  of  a  broken  heart,  be  laid  in  a  rich  man's 
new  tomb,  be  raised  the  third  day,  ascend  to  heaven 
and  sit  down  on  the  right  hand  of  God.  In  the  proph- 
ecies, you  have  a  complete  biography;  in  the  gospels, 
you  have  another.  They  are  as  much  alike  as  my  two 
hands,  and  yet  a  thousand  years  between  them.  These 
facts  can  not  be  explained  unless  you  admit  that  "holy 
men  of  God  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost. "  Dr.  Pierson  states  that  in  the  Old  Testament 
there  are  six  hundred  and  sixty-six  prophecies;  three 
hundred  and  thirty-three  of  these  pertain  to  Christ. 
In  the  third  chapter  of  Genesis  we  have  the  germ  of 
prophecy:  "The  seed  of  the  woman  shall  bruise  the 
serpent's  head."  From  this  has  grown  a  great 
tree.  Follow  its  branches.  Take  his  genealogy. 
From  the  branch  Seth,  Enoch,  branch  Noah,  branch 
Abraham,  branch  Isaac,  branch  Jacob,  branch  Judah, 
branch  David,  on  to  the  Christ.  Take  the  time  when  he 
was  to  appear.  Daniel  says,  from  the  time  of  the  de- 
cree of  Darius  to  lift  the  captivity  until  the  Messiah 
shall  be  seventy  weeks,  or  four  hundred  and  ninety- 
years.  From  the  decree  of  Darius  to  the  birth  of 
Christ  was  three  hundred  and  fifty-seven  years.  Adding 
the  thirty-three  years  of  his  life  and  you  have  four 
hundred  and  ninety  years.  Another  branch  in  the 
prophetic  tree.  Take  the  place  of  his  birth.  Among 
all  the  nations,  Israel  was  chosen;  among  the  tribes, 
Judah  was  taken;  among  the  cities  of  Judah,  Bethle- 
hem was  taken;  of  the  two  Bethlehems,  "Bethlehem 
Ephrata"  was  taken.  Another  branch  in  the  prophetic 


GOD'S  LETTER  TO   THE  PEOPLE.      '  401 


tree.  And  so  we  might  go  on,  until  the  tree  of  proph- 
ecy was  completed.  This  is  the  "plant  of  renown." 
Standing  before  it,  it  is  enswathed  with  fire  like  the 
burning  bush.  You  put  off  your  shoes,  for  you  feel 
that  you  are  standing  upon  holy  ground. 

Take  the  city  of  Babylon.  It  was  sixty  miles  in  cir- 
cumference, surrounded  by  a  wall,  according  to  Her- 
odotus, three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high — wide  enough 
for  six  chariots  to  go  abreast  upon  its  summit.  There 
were  fifteen  hundred  towers,  two  hundred  feet  higher 
than  the  wall.  It  had  gates  of  brass  and  bars  of  steel. 
It  did  seem  to  be  impregnable.  Isaiah  declares  that 
Babylon  shall  fall;  Cyrus  shall  take  it.  One  hundred 
and  fifty  years  after  Isaiah  had  spoken,  Cyrus  appears 
with  his  Persian  hosts;  but  he  can  not  break  those 
walls.  The  river  Euphrates  ran  under  the  wall  through 
the  center  of  the  city.  Cyrus  digs  great  canals  and 
draws  off  the  water  of  the  Euphrates  into  them,  and  in 
the  dead  hour  of  night  marches  his  men  down  the  bed 
of  the  river  into  the  heart  of  the  city.  But  there  is 
a  wall  along  either  bank.  On  that  night  the  sentinels 
were  drunk  and  the  gates  were  left  open.  Isaiah  had 
said  it  would  be  so.  The  city  is  engaged  in  a  drunken 
revel  and  falls  an  easy  prey.  By  the  way,  that  was 
the  night  when  Belshazzar  and  his  princes  were  drink- 
ing in  his  palace,  using  the  golden  vessels  which  his 
father  had  taken  from  the  temple  at  Jerusalem.  The 
hand-writing  upon  the  wall  appeared.  Daniel  was 
called  in  to  interpret  the  writing,  and  the  prophet  adds, 
"In  that  night  was  the  king  slain."  Cyrus  took  pos- 
session. The  glory  of  Babylon  departed.  Later,  the 


402  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

king  removed  the  capitol  to  the  banks  of  the  Tigris, 
the  wealthy  followed,  then  the  middle  classes  and  last 
the  lower  classes.     So  that  the  city  was  deserted.    The 
prophet  said,  "Babylon  shall  be  left  without  an  inhab- 
itant."    The    king    made  a  hunting   park    of  it.     He 
brought   all    kinds    of  animals    there.       But  growing 
tired  of  the  enterprise,   he  left  it.      Ever   since    it  has 
been  an  infested  place.     The  prophet  said,  "Babylon 
shall  be  the  habitation  of  devils,  the  hold  of  every  foul 
spirit,  the  cage  of  every  mean   and  hateful  bird.     The 
bittern,  the  cocatrice,  the  asp,  shall  be  there.      The 
lion  shall  make  his  lair  there."     The  river  Euphrates 
overflowed  its  banks  and  a  portion  of  the  old  "site   has 
ever  since  been  covered  with  water.     The  prophet  said, 
"Babylon  shall  become  pools  of  water. "     Dr.  Smith 
was  there  searching  for  relics.     He  hired  some  Arabs 
to  help  him.     At  sunset  they  left  him  and  went  to  the 
plain  to  pitch  their  tent  for  the  night.      He  asked  why 
they  did  not  stay  with   him.     "There    are   evil   spirits 
here;  we  would  not  stay  for  any  consideration."     The 
prophet  said,  "The    Arab  shall  never  pitch  his  tent 
there."     He  noticed  that  the  shepherds  never  brought 
their  flocks  there,  although  there  were  good  pastures. 
He  inquired  the  reason.     They  said,  "There  are  ser- 
pents that  bite  the  sheep."     The  prophet  said,  "The 
shepherd  shall  not  lead  his  flock  there  and  shall  never 
make  his   fold   there."     And  he  will  not.     Now  you 
have   here    a    line    of    historical    facts    running    back 
twenty-five  hundred  years,  and  a  corresponding  line 
of  prophetic  declarations,  and  they  are  parallel.     The 
retrospective  view  of  the  historian  and  the  prospective 


GOD'S  LETTER  TO  THE  PEOPLE.  403 

view  of  the  prophet  exactly  coincide.  The  only  explan- 
'  ation  is,  "Holy  men  of  God  spake  as  they  were  moved 
by  the  Holy  Ghost. "  I  once  placed  these  facts  before 
an  infidel  and  asked  him  to  explain  them.  He  said  it 
was  guess-work.  Any  one  could  predict  that  a  great 
city  would  reach  its  climax  and  fall  into  ruin.  Yes, 
but  could  he  go  into  particulars.  Suppose  you  guess 
about  me.  You  say,  I  will  die.  You  can  not  miss 
in  that.  But  specify  particulars.  You  say,  "I  will 
die  in  two  weeks  from  to-night,  at  half-past  twelve,  of 
apoplexy,  away  from  home,  and  no  one  will  see  me 
die."  Now  y6u  have  specified  five  particulars,  and  if 
you  miss  it  in  a  single  one  you  have  destroyed  your 
reputation  as  a  prophet.  Are  you  willing  to  venture 
upon  particulars?  "No,  it  would  not  be  safe.  I  would 
be  sure  to  miss  in  some  of  them  and  very  likely  in  all. " 
Well,  the  prophet  specified  particulars,  not  only  five, 
but  five  hundred,  and  they  all  came  true -to  the  very 
letter.  Will  that  not  establish  his  character  as  the 
messenger  of  God? 

In  the  same  connection  to  which  we  have  referred, 
he  says:  "Come  now  and  let  us  reason  together; 
though  your  sins  be  as  crimson,  they  shall  be  as  wool.  " 
"Look  unto  me  and  be  ye  saved,  all  ye  ends  of  the 
earth,  for  I  am  God,  and  besides  me  there  is  no  Savior." 
"He  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions,  he  was 
bruised  for  our  iniquity."  The  prophesy  respecting 
Tyre,  "like  the  top  of  a  rock  whereon  fishermen  spread 
their  nets;"  respecting  Egypt,  "the  basest  of  king- 
doms," and  respecting  Jerusalem,  "ploughed  with  a 
plough  and  sowed  with  salt,"  were  literally  accom- 


404  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

plished  to  every  jot  and  tittle.  Only  two  men  have 
attempted  to  break  the  argument  from  prophecy — 
Celsus  in  the  early  Christian  centuries  and  Renan  in 
the  later.  Their  answer  was,  that  the  prophecy  was 
so  much  like  the  event  that  it  must  have  been  written 
after  the  event  transpired.  But  the  least  tyro  in  Chris- 
tian evidences  knows  that  this  is  simply  childish. 

The  obelisk  that  stands  sentinel  in  Central  Park, 
binds  together  the  far  past  to  the  present.  If  the  his- 
tory of  the  past  and  the  prophecies  be  compared  they 
are  parallel  lines.  The  retrospective  view  of  the  his- 
torian and  the  prospective  view  of  the  prophet  coin- 
cide. That  one  fact  should  silence  our  infidel  lecturer 
whose  objections  are  "half  chaff  and  half  charring." 

Last  July  the  moon  was  totally  eclipsed  by  enter- 
ing the  dark  cone  of  the  earth's  shadow.  Years 
before  astronomers  had  predicted  the  night,  the  hour, 
minute  and  .second  when  the  eclipse  would  take  place. 
Their  prediction  was  based  upon  the  precision  and 
absolute  accuracy  of  the  movement  of  the  heavenly 
bodies.  The  prophets  have  declared  that  "the  king- 
doms of  this  world  shall  become  the  kingdoms  of  our 
Lord  and  of  his  Christ.  This  prediction  is  based  upon 
the  precision  and  unfailing  accuracy  of  the  move- 
ments of  the  wheels  of  providence.  "His  counsel 
shall  stand,  and  he  will  do  all  his  pleasure." 

V.  From  its  effects.  "By  their  fruit  ye  shall  know 
them."  An  Indian  prince  who  had  spent  five  years  in 
London  studying  English  institutions  was  asked  what 
he  thought  of  the  Bible.  "I  think  it  is  a  book  from 
God,  for  I  find  all  the  good  people  believe  it  and  all 


GOD'S  LETTER  TO  THE  PEOPLE.     -  405 


the  bad  people  disbelieve  it."     In  the  early  days  two 
men  were  traveling  in  Pennsylvania,  one  an  infidel,  the 
other  a  Christian.     At  night  they  came  to  a  cabin  in 
the  woods  occupied  by  a  large,  rough-looking  man. 
He  cordially  granted  them  the  privilege  of  staying  with 
him  over  night.     They  were  afraid,  and  determined  to 
keep  watch.    When  they  retired  it  was  agreed  that  the 
infidel  should  lie  awake  the  first  half  of  the  night,  and 
then  wake  the  Christian,  who  would  keep  watch  until 
morning.     The  Christian  immediately  fell  asleep.     By 
and  by  the  old  man  went  to  the  corner,  took  down  a 
large  book  from  the  shelf,  read  a  chapter  and  kneeled 
down  to  pray.     That  satisfied  the  infidel  and  he  fell 
asleep.      The  next  morning  the  Christian  took  him  to 
task  for  not  waking  him  as  he  had  promised.     "Well," 
he  said,   "when  I   saw  that   man   read   his   Bible  and 
pray,  I  knew  we  were  safe.     There  was   no   need  of 
watching."     "Their  rock  is  not  as  our  rock,  our  ene- 
mies themselves  being  judges."    Take  the  city  of  Cin- 
cinnati, where  I  reside.     Remove  all  the  churches,  all 
the  Bibles  and  all  who  read  and  study  and  practice  the 
Bible,   and   leave   the  city  to  the   saloons,  low  dives, 
thieves,  libertines  and  drunkards.     All  the  policemen 
in  the  State  of  Ohio  could  not  keep  order.      It  would 
be   perfect   pandemonium.     On  the   other  hand,  take 
away  all   the   saloons   and   low  dives,  all  the  thieves, 
drunkards,  Sabbath-breakers  and  libertines,  and  leave 
it  to  the  churches,  Bibles,  and  those  who  honor  the 
book.      You  would  need  no  policeman.     The  people 
would  be  a  law  unto  themselves.     The  Queen  of  Eng- 
land was   asked    the    secret   of   England's    greatness. 


406  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

She  handed  her  distinguished  visitor  a  Bible  and  said: 
"That  Book."  Three  hundred  years  with  the  Bible  has 
converted  the  rocky  island  of  Scotland  into  a  beautiful 
garden;  while  Spain,  with  far  greater  natural  resources, 
without  the  Bible,  has  in  that  time  become  a  wilder- 
ness and  an  effete  kingdom. 

D'Aubigne  asks:  What  made  the  monk  of  Erfurth, 
Luther,  to  differ  from  Loyola,  the  monk  of  Mauresa? 
Their  condition  of  soul  was  alike.  Both  were  deeply 
sensible  of  their  sins;  both  sought  peace  with  God, 
and  desired  to  have  assurance  of  it  in  their  hearts.  The 
Bible  made  the  difference.  The  first  had  it;  the  sec- 
ond had  not.  If  another  Staupitz,  with  the  Bible  in 
his  hand,  had  presented  himself  at  the  covenant  of 
Mauresa,  perhaps  Inigo  might  have  been  known  as 
the  Luther  of  the  Peninsula.  What  makes  America 
differ  from  Spain?  The  life-giving  word.  Take  away 
the  Bible,  and  you  take  God  from  them. 

Take  the  map  of  the  world  and  mark  those  countries 
where  the  Bible  is  known  and  believed  and  practiced, 
and  compare  them  with  those  countries  where  it  is 
unknown  or  repudiated.  You  compare  England  with 
China,  America  with  Turkey,  the  North  of  Ireland 
with  the  South,  New  England  with  Mexico.  In 
the  one  case  there  is  liberty,  in  the  other  tyranny. 
The  one  faces  the  light  and  moves  forward;  the  other 
faces  the  darkness  and  feasts  upon  the  dust  and  ashes 
of  the  past.  The  poet,  Tennyson,  contrasting  England 
with  China,  says: 

"Through  the  shadow  of  the  globe  we  sweep  into  the  younger  day, 
Better  fifty  years  in  Eui-ope  than  a  cycle  in  Cathay." 


GOD'S  LETTER  TO  THE  PEOPLE.    -  407 

In  conclusion,    i.   Study  the  Bible  by  books.     Each 
book  has  a  central  thought,  and  all  the  facts  and  truths 
are  crystallized  about  it.      And  until  you  get  that  cen- 
tral thought   in  your  mental  grasp,  you  can  not  read 
the  book  with  great  profit.     Take  the  book  of  Ruth. 
Some  say  that  is  only  a  love  story  and  should  not  have 
a  place  in  the  Bible.     A  superficial  reader  says  that. 
The  central  thought  is  a  redemption.     We  are  taught 
that  the  redeemer  must  be  of  the  same  family  with  the 
debtor;  a  kinsman,  and  yet  belong  to  another  order  and 
be  possessed  of  the  means  to  procure  the  redemption. 
Christ  is  our  elder  brother  and  likewise  the  Son  of  God, 
and  possessed  of  the  resources  of  infinity.     Take  Es- 
ther.    The  name  of  God  is  not  in  that  book.     But  the 
absence  of  the  name  is  essential  to  the  purpose  of  the 
book.     It  sets  forth  the  hand  of  God  in  providence, 
even  in  the  most  ordinary  incidents  of  our  lives.     You 
see  the  scenes  on  the  stage  move;  you  do  not  see  the 
hand  that  moves  them.      You  see  the  scenes  of  Provi- 
dence changing;  you  do  not  see  God's  hand   moving 
them.     He  hides  himself..    Even  his  name  is  not  men- 
tioned in  the  book,  and  yet  his  hand  moves  the  wheels 
of   Providence  until    Mordecai  is  exalted  among  the 
princes  and   Haman  is  brought  to  the  gallows.     God 
works    in    providence.       His    government    makes    for 
righteousness    and    against    wickednes.     Take  Eccle- 
siastes.     You   are   perplexed  as  you  read.     Its  philos- 
ophy   seems    doubtful.     The    expression  "Under   the 
sun"  occurs  twenty-six  times.     That  is  the  key  to  the 
book.     It  is  the  philosophy  of  a  skeptic  who  looks  not 
above  the  earth.      But  at  last  Solomon's  faith  triumphs. 


408  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

"Hear  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter;  fear  God 
and  keep  his  commandments,  for  this  is  the  whole 
duty  of  man."  Take  Philemon.  That  is  only  Paul's 
letter  to  a  slave-holder.  The  central  thought  is  inter- 
cession. Onesimus  was  the  slave  of  Philemon.  He 
ran  away  from  home  and  stole  from  his  master.  By 
and  by  he  goes  to  Paul  and  confesses.  Paul  acts  as  in- 
tercessor. He  sends  Onesimus  back  to  Philemon  and 
this  letter  with  him.  He  asks  Philemon  to  receive 
Onesimus  as.  his  own  son;  whatever  he  does  for  Onesi- 
mus will  be  regarded  as  done  for  him,  and  if  "he  have 
wronged  thee  in  anything  set  that  to  my  account." 
That  illustrates  the  intercession  of  Christ.  We  have 
run  away  from  our  heavenly  Father  and  robbed  him 
of  his  glory.  Christ  says,  Receive  them  as  my  chil- 
dren; whatever  is  done  for'them  will  be  done  for  me, 
and  in  whatever  they  have  wronged  you  set  it  to  my 
account. 

Again,  take  Job.  A  celebrated  rhetorician  said: 
"The  Acropolis  was  the  middle  space  of  five  concen- 
tric circles  of  a  shield,  whereof  the  four  outer  ones 
were  Athens,  Africa,  Greece  and  the  world."  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  center  around  which  the  family,  the 
Church  and  the  State  revolve,  and  his  providential 
government  is  simply  the  scheme  for  developing  and 
perfecting  these  divine  institutions.  The  book  of  Job, 
older  than  the  writings  of  Homer,  treats  of  this  provi- 
dential government.  Job  was  a  man  of  God.  He  was 
a  prosperous  man,  a  wealthy  prince.  Suddenly  his 
property  vanishes;  his  sons  and  daughters  are  taken 
away;  he  is  smitten  with  a  loathsome  disease.  Those 


GOD'S  LETTER  TO   THE  PEOPLE.  409 

who  had  courted  his  favor*  now  turn  their  backs  upon 
him.  Even  his  wife  counsels  him  to  "curse  God  and 
die."  His  three  friends  visit  him.  They  sit  in  dumb 
astonishment  for  seven  days.  Then  follows  a  dialogue. 
They  insist  that  since  God  is  just  and  his  providence 
is  over  all,  Job  must  be  a  great  sinner,  as  he  is  such  a 
great  sufferer.  But  Job  protests  his  innocence  and  ex- 
presses his  willingness  to  appear  at  God's  judgment 
seat  and  plead  his  own  cause.  At  the  close  God  ap- 
pears to  him  in  a  whirlwind,  and  asks  him  a  number  of 
questions,  which  completely  humble  him.  These  ques- 
tions may  be  arranged  in  three  classes.  In  the  first 
place  God  convinces  Job  that  he  need  not  expect  to 
understand  his  plans,  as  they  extend  from  eternity  to 
eternity,  and  the  brief  span  of  a  human  lifetime  does 
not  afford  Sufficient  data  for  forming  a  correct  judg- 
ment of  them.  I  have  read  a  fable  of  insects  that 
lived  only  for  one  hour.  One  of  their  number  lived  a 
little  longer.  He  is  a  philosopher.  He  addresses  the 
new  generation.  He  says:  "I  have  noticed  during  my 
life  that  the  sun  has  gone  down  toward  the  horizon. 
In  a  few  generations  it  will  be  out  of  sight,  and 
then  the  earth  will  be  in  perpetual  darkness."  The 
trouble  with  that  philosopher  was  that  his  period  of 
observation  was  too  short.  So  we  are  not  competent 
to  pass  judgment  on  a  plan  which  reaches  from  eter- 
nity to  eternity.  In  the  second  place  God  reminds 
Job  that  he  is  surrounded  with  material  works  which 
he  does  not  understand,  and  how  can  he  expect  to  un- 
derstand God's  moral  works.  He  asks  Job:  "Where 
wast  thou  when  I  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth?" 


410  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

The  ancients  knew  nothing  of  the  support  of  the  world. 
Now  the  force  of  gravitation  is  recognized  as  its  firm 
foundation.  "Hast  thou  laid  a  measuring  line  on 
the  earth?"  The  form  and  extent  of  the  earth  were 
then  unknown.  Now  its  shape,  size,  weight  and  re- 
sources are  revealed.  "Hast  thou  trod  the  path  of 
light  to  the  house  thereof?"  They  never  thought  of 
of  divining  a  ray  of  light.  But  now  the  ray  is  unraveled 
and  we  have  the  seven  colors  of  the  rain-bow.  "Canst 
thou  command  the  thunder?"  The  electric  current  is 
now  used  in  telegraph,  telephone  and  street  car.  And 
it  is  not  improbable  that  man  will  discover  the  laws 
which  control  the  storms  and  have  them  under  his 
hand.  In  the  third  place  God  directs  him  to  the  ani- 
mal kingdom.  How  little  he  knew  of  them!  Now 
their  laws  have  been  studied,  and  they  have  been  sub- 
dued. The  8th  Psalm  will  find  its  fulfillment  in  the 
study  and  discovery  of  the  laws  of  God. 

The  moral  government  of  the  Mediatorial  King  is 
founded  on  moral  law.  And  in  the  application  of  this 
law  in  society,  to  the  family,  the  Church  and  State,  will 
be  found  that  perfect  order  after  which  the  human 
heart  yearns.  To  do  this  is  the  object  of  the  National 
Reform  Association. 

2.  Study  the  Bible  as  one  book.  When  I  was  a  lad 
nine  years  old  our  pastor  came  to  our  house  in  his  an- 
nual round  to  catechise.  He  asked  me  if  I  had  read 
the  Bible  through.  I  confessed  I  had  not.  Well,  said 
he,  begin  to-morrow  morning,  and  read  a  chapter  every 
morning  and  evening,  and  several  on  Sabbath.  And 
by  the  time  I  come  back  next  year,  see  if  you  cannot 


GOD'S  LETTER  TO  THE  PEOPLE.  411 

have  read  the  Bible  through.  We  began  next  morn- 
ing at  the  first  of  Genesis.  We  were  so  intent  on 
reading  the  Bible  through  that  our  mother  could  get 
little  help  from  us.  By  and  by  we  grew  careless;  but 
our  mother  became  more  interested,  and  what  with  her 
interest,  by  the  end  of  the  year  we  had  read  the  Bible 
through.  It  is  a  privilege  and  duty  I  have  tried  to 
avail  myself  of  ever  since,  and  I  can  bear  this  testi- 
mony: It  pays — it  pays  compound  interest. 

3.  Give  the  Bible  to  others.  The  British  and  For- 
eign Bible  Society  was  organized  in  1802.  Since  that 
time  they  have  distributed  one  hundred  million  copies 
of  the  Word  of  God  and  translated  it  into  two  hundred 
and  sixty  different  languages.  In  1816  the  American 
Bible  Society  was  organized.  In  the  last  ten  years 
they  have  given  out  over  eleven  million  copies  of  God's 
word  and  translated  it  into  at  least  twenty  different 
languages.  These  two  great  societies  are  two  hands 
by  which  the  Church  is  scattering  the  leaves  of  the  tree 
of  life  which  are  for  the  healing  of  the  nations;  and  by 
and  by  "the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  will  cover  the 
earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea."  We  read  that 
Isaac  digged  again  the  wells  which  his  fathers  had 
digged,  and  which  the  Philistines  had  stopped  up. 
The  Reformers  digged  again  the  wells  of  salvation 
which  the  apostles  had  digged  and  which  the  Roman 
apostacy  had  stopped  up.  And  these  two  societies 
are  the  two  great  mains  and  their  auxiliaries  are  the 
branches  through  which  the  water  of  life  is  being  con- 
veyed to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  The  Church  has  the 
facilities  and  the  means  at  her  command  to  place  the 


412  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

Bible  in  the  hands  of  every  man,  woman  and  child  on 
the  globe,  within  the  present  century  in  their  own 
tongue.  Let  the  Church  arise  and  put  on  her  strength. 
4.  Keep  the  Bible  in  our  public  schools.  A  friend 
of  Rufus  Choate  expressed  surprise  at  finding  seven 
versions  of  the  Bible  in  his  library,  but  no  copy  of  the 
U.  S.  Constitution.  "Ah,"  said  the  advocate,  "the  con- 
stitution of  my  country  is  in  every  one  of  these  seven 
volumes."  I  held  a  National  Reform  meeting  in  the 
Central  Presbyterian  Church  of  Louisville.  At  the 
meeting  Bishop  Pennick  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  who 
was  the  representative  of  this  church  in  South  Africa 
for  several  years,  said:  "If  the  American  people  do 
not  want  this  nation  to  go  to  pieces,  and  this  republic 
to  go  down,  they  must  put  the  Bible  under  them.  The 
carelessness  that  is  manifested  in  allowing  the  Bible  to 
be  put  out  of  our  public  schools  is  alarming.  We  must 
keep  the  Bible  or  perish." 


CHAPTER    XXII. 


GOD'S   RULE   FOR    CHRISTIAN    GIVING. 

This  is  the  title  of  a  practical  and  deeply  thoughtful 
•essay  by  William  Speer.  For  the  candid  inquirer  he 
settles  the  question,  that  we  are  to  be  regulated  in  this 
duty  not  by  the  elastic  cord  of  expediency,  but  by  the 
golden  mete-wand  of  Divine  revelation.  Those  who 
have  examined  this  subject  most  thoroughly  from  a 
Scriptural  standpoint  are  the  most  ready  to  admit  that 
it  is  a  matter  of  Divine  law  and  not  of  human  caprice. 
"What  saith  the  law?  How  readest  thou?"  During 
the  first  three  centuries  the  Church  accepted  the  Word 
of  God  as  the  only  guide  in  the  duty  of  benevolence, 
and  Christianity  was  a  mighty  conqueror,  triumphing 
over  every  foe.  With  the  elevation  of  Constantine  in 
323  was  introduced  the  involuntary  or  compulsory&%£. 
Benevolence  was  converted  into  taxation.  With  it 
came  the  "Dark  Ages."  It  reached  its  culmination  in 
the  eighth  century,  when  Charlemagne,  who  was 
crowned  with  imperial  honors  by  Pope  Leo  III.,  or- 
dered one-tenth  of  all  incomes  to  be  paid  to  the  church 
under  severe  penalties  of  forfeiture.  In  that  decree  he 
slit  the  veins  of  the  Church  and  let  her  out  her  life 
blood.  It  built  up  a  gigantic  architectural  visibility 
behind  which  an  utterably  corrupt  hierarchical  system 
was  impregnably  intrenched,  but  it  lacked  "the  power 


414  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

of  God."  Pope  Innocent  IV.  said  to  Thomas  Aquinas> 
pointing  to  the  treasuries  in  the  Vatican, "The  day  is  past 
for  the  Church  to  say,  'silver  and  gold  have  I  none.' ' 
"Yes,"  replied  Thomas,  "and  the  day  is  also  past  when 
she  could  say  to  the  paralytic,  'Take  up  thy  bed  and 
walk.' "  It  flooded  the  Church  with  cloistered  and 
corrupt  Benedictines  who  ate  her  flesh  as  it  were  fire,, 
and  desolated  her  with  swarms  of  mendicant  praeda- 
tores,  who  traveled  up  and  down  the  earth  seeking 
whom  they  might  devour.  In  the  Reformation  of  the 
sixteenth  century  the  Protestant  Church  went  to  the 
opposite  extreme  and  adopted  our  modern  system  of 
voluntaryism,  which  means  that  every  man  shall  have  li- 
cense to  do  as  he  chooses.  In  her  zeal  to  throw  off  the 
tyrannous  yoke  of  Rome  she  entirely  overlooked  God's 
rule  for  Christian  giving.  This  extraordinary  peculiarity 
of  that  great  revival  arose  from  the  fact  "that  there  was 
no  immediate  need  comparable  with  its  extent  and  ef- 
fects, at  least,  for  money  to  build  churches  and  estab- 
lish schools  and  colleges,  on  account  of  the  immense 
confiscation  of  monkish  and  Episcopal  property  which 
had  beenaccumulatingfor  centuriespreviousinthehands 
of  the  Roman  church.  Hence,  an  appointment  of  the  New- 
Testament  respecting  collections  of  money  would  not 
press  itself  upon  the  consideration  of  the  Protestants; 
and  provisions  for  them  worthy  of  the  obligations  and 
ultimate  aims  and  glorious  hopes  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  would  not  be  made."  (Speer.)  As  an  inevitable 
result  the  missionary  spirit  lay  dormant  in  the  Church 
for  generations  after  this  great  Reformation.  It  is 
only  at  a  comparatively  recent  date  that  the  Church 


GOD'S  RULE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  GIVING.*  415 

has  awoke  from  the  sleep  of  ages  and  has  come  to  ap- 
preciate the  magnitude  of  her  mission,  "to  preach  the 
gospel  to  every  creature."  And  to-day  only  a  few 
little  spots  in  the  great  harvest  field  of  the  world  have 
been  reaped.  Out  of  the  fifteen  hundred  millions  of  hu- 
man beings  that  live  upon  the  earth  at  the  present  hour, 
one  thousand  millions  have  never  heard  of  Christ. 
This  is  a  most  appalling  fact!  And  when  we  remember 
that  God  has  decreed  that  evangelizing  the  world  shall 
advance  no  faster  than  his  redeemed  people  pour  forth 
the  means  of  its  advance  we  can  not  help  inquiring:  "  Is 
it  not  time  for  us  to  abandon  this  system  of  voluntary- 
ism bequeathed  us  by  the  first  Reformation  and  adopt 
'God's  rule  for  Christian  giving?'  ' 

I.  God's  design  in  requiring  beneficence  of  us  is  the 
cultivation  of  grace  in  the  heart  of  the  giver.  God 
has  laid  upon  us  the  duty  of  ministering  to  the  wants 
of  the  poor  and  carrying  the  gospel  to  those  who  know 
him  not.  And  why?  Not  because  he  is  dependent 
upon  us.  The  treasures  of  earth  are  his  and  he  could 
use  them  at  his  pleasure  without  us.  "The  silver  is 
mine,  the  gold  is  mine,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts." 
"Every  beast  of  the  forest  is  mine,  the  cattle  upon 
a  thousand  hills."  "If  I  were  hungry,  I  would  not  tell 
thee;  for  the  world  is  mine,  and  the  fulness  thereof." 
Moreover,  he  might  have  made  all  the  elements  of  hu- 
man life  and  comfort  as  free  as  air  and  water,  and  he 
might  have  written  his  gospel  on  the  face  of  the  heavens 
so  that  all  could  read  it.  But  the  reason  is  because 
giving  is  the  best  means  of  cultivating  benevolent  dis- 
positions in  us.  Without  the  reflex  influence  of  be- 


416  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

• 

nevolence  our  spiritual  nature  would  be  blighted.  God 
has  ordained  that  the  poor  will  suffer  if  we  do  not  feed 
and  clothe  them,  and  the  heathen  will  perish  if  we  do 
not  carry  the  gospel  to  them,  in  order  that  we  may 
the  more  surely  reap  the  advantages  of  exercising  the 
grace  of  benevolence.  In  Cooke's  celebrated  essay 
on  "The  Divine  Law  of  Beneficence,"  this  conclusive 
statement  occurs:  "The  fact  that  God  could  have  pub- 
lished the  gospel  and  fed  his  poor  without  us,  while  he 
could  not,  without  our  concurrence  in  giving,  secure 
to  us  the  blessedness  which  attaches  to  those  who  give, 
indicates  that  his  main  design  in  laying  on  us  the  ne- 
cessity of  giving  was  to  give  scope  to  our  benevolent 
affections."  "We  speak,  therefore,  not  without  war- 
rant when  we  say  that  all  the  human  suffering  that 
pleads  for  human  chanty,  and  all  the  heathen  dark- 
ness that  lingers  upon  the  nations  for  human  benevo- 
lence to  enlighten,  is  suffered  to  exist,  among  other 
purposes,  as  a  means  of  developing  Christian  char- 
acter." Christ  comes  to  us  in  the  person  of  his  poor 
and  begs.  He  repeats  the  act  of  his  humiliation  that 
he  may  draw  forth  from  us  the  benevolent  emotions 
and  acts  that  shall  assimilate  us  to  him  "who  though 
he  was  rich  yet  for  our  sakes  became  poor."  And 
then  he  promises  to  acknowledge  all  our  responses,  to 
his  solicitations  when  he  shall  come  in  the  glory  of  his 
Father  with  all  the  holy  angels.  "Inasmuch  as  ye  did 
it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  ye  did  it  unto  me." 
Divine  worship  is  exercising  the  graces  of  the  heart  upon 
their  proper  object;  and  giving  is  declared  in  the  Scrip- 
ture as  an  act  of  worship.  "  Honor  (worship)  the  Lord 


GOD'S  RULE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  GIVING.  417 

with  thy  substance  and  with  the  first  fruits  of  all  thine  in- 
crease. "  Prayers  and  alms  are  linked  in  the  bonds  of 
worship.  "Thy  prayers  and  thine  alms  are  come  up 
for  a  memorial  before  me. " 

The  Magi  from  the  East,  in  connection  with  their 
worship  of  Jesus,  opened  their  treasures  and  presented 
unto  him  gifts,  gold,  frankincense  and  myrrh.  The 
Sabbath  is  consecrated  to  the  worship  of  God,  but 
every  Christian  is  commanded  to  place  a  portion  of 
his  substance  in  the  treasury  of  the  Lord  on  that  day. 
Giving  is  as  much  an  act  of  worship  as  prayer  or  praise, 
and  like  them  must  be  engaged  in  because  it  culti- 
vates grace.  Indeed,  giving  is  a  Christian  grace,  "and 
like  all  other  graces  it  is  insisted  upon  in  the  Scrip- 
tures for  its  own  sake — not  because  there  is  so  much 
suffering  to  be  relieved,  but  because  it  is  good  and 
right  for  us  to  engage  in  its  relief.  God  will  have 
us  give,  not  of  necessity,  but  from  the  spontaneous 
flowings  of  the  heart.  "Every  man  according  as  he 
purposeth  in  his  heart  so  let  him  give;  not  grudgingly 
or  of  necessity,  for  God  loveth  a  cheerful  giver. " 

The  duty  is  enforced  from  higher  grounds  than  the  fact 
that  so  much  suffering  is  to  be  relieved.  In  one  case  we 
are  exhorted  to  "do  good  and  communicate,  for  with 
such  sacrifices  God  is  well  pleased."  In  another  we 
are  prompted  to  remember  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who,  "though  he  was  rich,  yet  for  our  sakes  be- 
came poor."  In  another  the  parity  of  reason  drawn 
from  other  graces  is  urged.  "Therefore,  as  ye  abound 
in  everything,  in  faith,  and  utterance,  and  knowledge, 
and  in  all  diligence,  and  in  your  love  to  us,  see  that 


418  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

ye  abound  in  this  grace  also."  In  another,  "Give  alms 
of  such  things  as  ye  have,  and  all  things  shall  be  clean 
unto  you,"  as  if  charity  were  the  center  in  which  all 
virtues  met. 

When  the  poor  Christians  at  Jerusalem  were  in  great 
suffering  through  the  confiscation  of  their  property, 
and  the  disciples  went  around  to  solicit  relief  from  the 
Gentile  churches,  their  inspired  letters,  sent  here  and 
there,  contained  no  rhetorical  paintings  of  the  distress 
to  be  relieved.  In  all  that  they  said  there  appears 
next  to  nothing  adapted  to  draw  upon  the  natural  feel- 
ings and  sympathies.  In  this  work  they  seem  to  be 
laboring  with  a  single  eye  to  the  sanctification  of  the 
Christians  of  whom  they  asked  relief,  as  if  no  relief 
were  wanted.  The  fact  that  God  was  to  be  glorified 
and  the  hearts  of  men  sanctified  in  giving,  was  their 
main  argument.  One  of  the  most  distinct  references 
to  the  distress  was  this:  "For  the  administration  of 
this  service  not  only  supplieth  the  want  of  the  saints, 
but  is  abundant  through  many  thanksgivings  to  God." 
And  here  the  revenue  of  praise  to  God  is  the  great  con- 
sideration absorbing  the  others.  "  And  so  Paul  wrote 
the  Corinthians  to  lay  by  their  contributions  before  he 
came,  "that  there  be  no  gatherings  when  I  come."  He 
knew  that  his  presence  among  them  would  call  forth 
their  love  for  him  as  their  father  in  Christ,  that  his 
personal  magnetism,  logic,  and  eloquence  would  be 
strong  incentives,  and  that  under  the  influence  of 
these  a  much  larger  contribution  would  be  secured. 
But  he  desired  no  such  influences  to  play  upon  their 
hearts.  He  wished  no  modern  Kimball  to  stir  up  his 


GOD'S  RULE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  GIVING  419 

flocks.  He  wished  them  to  give  spontaneously.  He 
wished  the  love  of  Christ  in  their  hearts  to  be  their 
only  motive.  And  hence  he  directed  the  contributions 
to  be  made  beforehand,  "that  there  be  no  gathering 
when  I  come."  In  that  case  the  giver  and  not  the  re- 
ceiver will  be  the  soliciting  party.  As  Paul  represents 
the  Macedonians,  "praying  us  with  much  entreaty  that 
we  should  receive  the  gift  and  take  upon  us  the  fellow- 
ship of  ministering  to  the  saints."  The  children  of 
Israel  brought  their  gifts  to  build  the  tabernacle  until 
they  had  to  be  restrained.  Moses  and  Aaron  lifted  up 
their  hands  and  said:  "Tell  the  people  to  cease 
bringing,  for  we  have  more  than  enough  already." 
What  a  blessed  day  it  will  be  when  our  missionaries 
will  lift  their  hands  and  say,  "Tell  the  people  to 
send  no  more  money,  for  we  have  more  than  we  ean' 
use  already."  Read  the  8th  and  Qth  chapters  of  II. 
Corinthians.  Giving  is  there  called  a  gift  or  grace  of 
God — the  charism  of  liberality. 

I  believe  the  grace  of  giving  is  what  Paul  denomi- 
nates the  "  unspeakable  gift "  in  the  last  verse.  This  is  the 
only  interpretation  that  makes  it  a  fitting  close  for  the 
argument  that  runs  through  these  two  chapters.  He 
calls  attention  to  "the  grace  of  God  bestowed  on  the 
churches  of  Macedonia."  That  must  be  the  grace  of 
giving,  for  he  calls  it  "the  riches  of  their  liberality," 
and  says  that  "beyond  their  power  they  were  willing 
of  themselves."  Follow  his  argument.  He  counsels 
the  Corinthians  to  "abound  in  this  grace  also,"  be- 
cause it  will  "prove  the  sincerity  of  your  love;"  it  is 
"the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;''  it  "is  expedient 


420  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

for  you,  that  as  there  was  a  readiness  to  will,  so  there 
may  be  a  performance  also  o'ut  of  that  which  ye  have." 
It  is  a  matter  of  equality.  "This  grace  is  administered 
to  us  to  the  glory"  of  God;  it  proves  that  "our  boast- 
ing of  you"  to  provoke  others  to  liberality  "was  not 
in  vain;''  it  brings  a  reaping  according  to  the  sowing, 
and  it  leads  others  to  "glorify  God."  And  then,  in 
view  of  all  these  leading  and  ponderous  reasons,  Paul 
calls  this  grace  the  exceeding,  the  outstripping,  the 
surpassing  "grace  of  God  in  you,"  which  causeth, 
through  us,  thanksgiving  to  God,  "and  the  administra- 
tion of  this  service  not  only  supplieth  the  wants  of  the 
saints,  but  is  abundant  also  by  many  thanksgivings 
unto  God;'5  and  as  though  the  thought  of  this  soul  ex- 
panding grace  were  too  much  for  him,  he  concludes 
with  a  burst  of  praise  to  the  Giver:  "Thanks  be  unto 
God  for  his  unspeakable  gift." 

This  charism  of  liberality  is  an  unspeakable,  extra- 
ordinary gift.  It  is  unspeakable,  because  it  is  an  unc- 
tion of  the  Holy  One.  It  lays  the  ax  at  the  root  of 
our  covetousness.  It  confers  immeasurable  blessings 
upon  our  revolted  race.  It  brings  a  revenue  of  glory 
to  the  grace' of  God.  No  wonder  the  enraptured  apos- 
tle exclaimed:  ''Thanks  be  to  God  for  his  unspeakable 
gift!"  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  "this  priceless 
charism  of  liberality.'' 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  man's  sanctification  for 
the  glory  of  God  is  the  main  design  for  the  Scripture 
provisions  for  benevolence.  This  principle  is  the  key 
to  the  Scriptural  method  of  contributing. 


GOD^S  RULE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  GIVING.  421 

II.   The  amount  to  be  given  has  been  made  a  mat- 
ter   of  divine    legislation.     The    Divine  law    contains 
nothing  of  this  modern    voluntaryism    which    teaches 
that  a    man  ought    to  be  occasionally  generous,   and 
generally  charitable;  but  it  is   definite   and   tangible. 
It  is  true  that   it  differs  from  a   system  of  taxation,  in 
that  room  was  left  for  the  heart  and  conscience  to  play 
between  different  degrees  of  generosity.     This  is  nec- 
essary in  order  to   allow  the  giver  to   show  his   heart 
and  give  exercise  to  his  love  to  God  and  man  in  what 
he  gives.      But  it  is  specific  enough  to  guide  us  to  a 
course  of  habitual  and  generous  giving.     The  basis  of 
all  the  statutory  enactments  of  the  Scriptures  on  the 
subject  of  beneficence  is  the  original  and  permanent 
law  which  requires  us  to  love  the  Lord  with  all  our 
heart,    and    soul,    and    strength,  and.  mind,  and    our 
neighbor  as  ourselves. 

I.  In  the  patriarchal  age  this  love  was  expressed  by 
giving  one-tenth.  Just  as  man  was  required  from  the 
beginning  to  consecrate  one-seventh  of  his  time,  as  a 
recognition  of  the  fact  that  all  his  time  belonged  to 
God,  so  he  was  required  to  dedicate  one-tenth  of  his 
property,  as  an  acknowledgment  that  all  his  property 
belongs  to  God.  The  same  arguments  that  prove  that 
the  setting  apart  of  one  seventh  part  of  the  time  for 
divine  service  was  an  original  and  permanent  institu- 
tion, will  prove  that  the  consecration  of  one-tenth  of 
our  property  to  sacred  uses  was  an  original  and  per- 
manent law.  The  universality  of  the  custom  of  giving 
one-tenth  of  their  income  to  their  gods,  which  pre- 
vailed among  the  nations  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  an- 


422  RE  FOR  MA  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

tiquity,  among  the  Gauls  in  the  West,  among  the 
Scandinavians  in  the  North,  among  the  Carthagenians 
and  Copts  in  the  South,  and  among  the  Asiatics  in 
the  East,  is  presumptive  evidence  that  the  law  of  tithes 
was  given  to  man  at  the  beginning.  This  tithing  must 
have  been  a  divine  institution,  for  we  read  in  Heb. 
vii:6,  that  Melchisedec  "received  tithes  of  Abraham," 
or  as  .the  Greek  has  it,  "he  decimated  or  tithed  Abra- 
ham." Again  in  the  9th  verse,  "Levi  also,  who  re- 
ceiveth  tithes,  paid  tithes  in  Abraham;"  or  as  the 
Greek  more  forcibly  presented  it,  "And  Levi,  also, 
the  receiver  of  tithes,  was  tithed  in  Abraham."  Here 
we  have  Melchisedec,  the  administrator  of  the  law  of 
tithing,  exercising  his  authority,  Abraham,  a  distin- 
guished subject,  obeying  the  law,  the  superiority  of 
Melchisedec  to  -Levi,  who  subsequently  administered 
the  law,  as  clearly  appears  in  tithing  Levi  in  Abra- 
ham, and  the  approbation  of  God  upon  the  authority 
exercised,  and  the  subjection  rendered.  Jacob,  at 
Bethel,  solemnly  avowed  that  "of  all  that  thou  shalt 
give  me  I  will  surely  give  the  tenth  unto  thee."  It  is 
an  admitted  principle,  that  approved  examples  estab- 
lish the  existence  of  a  law. 

The  Savior  recognized  the  existence  and  binding 
obligation  of  the  law  of  tithing:  "Ye  pay  tithes  of  mint, 
anise  cummin;  these  ought  ye  to  have  done."  And  in  the 
7th  chapter  of  Hebrews,  I2th  verse,  it  is  expressly  said 
that  the  tithe  law  has  been  transferred  from  Melchisedec 
to  Christ  as  its  administrator.  "For  the  priesthood 
being  changed,  there  is  made  of  necessity  a  change 
also  in  the  law;"  the  priesthood  has  been  changed  to 


GOD'S  RULE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  GIVltfG.  423 

• 

Christ.  The  law  of  tithing  has  therefore  of  necessity 
been  transferred  to  him.  And  just  as  Abraham 
obeyed  the  law  in  paying  tithes  to  Melchisedec,  so 
we  must  obey  the  law  in  paying  tithes  to  Christ. 
That  one  passage  should  forever  put  this  question  at 
rest. 

From  all  this  we  conclude  that  tithing  was  a  divine  in- 
stitution in  the  Church  from  the  beginning.  It  is  an 
original  and  permanent  law,  fixed  and  settled  in  the 
nature  of  things — a  law  to  which  we  are  all  born  in 
subjection,  high  and  low,  governors  and  governed — a 
law  which  is  "prior  to  all  our  devices,  and  prior  to  all 
our  contrivances,  paramount  to  all  our  ideas,  and  all 
our  sensations,  antecedent  to  our  very  existence,  by 
which  we  are  connected  in  the  eternal  frame  of  the 
universe,  and  out  of  which  we  can  not  stir." — Burke. 

2.  In  the  Levitical  age  this  love  was  expressed  by 
giving  one-third  for  charitable  and  religious  purposes. 
As  the  Jews  were  required,  in  addition  to  the  one- 
seventh  part  of  time,  to  consecrate  many  secular  hours 
to  divine  service,  so  they  were  enjoined,  in  addition 
to  the  one-tenth  of  their  property,  to  make  large  con- 
tributions for  benevolent  and  religious  purposes. 
What  are  the  facts? 

Among  the  Jews  a  brilliant  and  imposing  service 
was  established.  The  tribe  of  Levi  was  consecrated 
and  the  sons  of  Aaron  were  to  be  priests,  "besides  a 
multitude  as  Nethinim  or  stationary  men,  who  were 
divided  into  twenty-four  classes,  to  serve  at  the  daily 
sacrifice — 80,000  were  hewers  of  wood,  and  70,000 
bearers  of  burdens." 


424  RE  FORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

• 

At  Sinai  the  Levites  numbered  23,000  males,  12,000 
were  grown.  The  people  numbered  600,000  who  bear 
arms.  One  minister  of  religion  for  every  50  people, 
besides  the  army  of  Nethinim. 

In  David's  time  triere  were  38,000  Levites  ready  for 
service;  24,000  to  assist  the  priests  in  the  sanctuary, 
6,000  to  act  as  lawyers  and  scribes,  4,000  to  furnish 
music  for  the  house  of  God,  and  4,000  gate-keepers. 
Abundant  provision  was  made  for  them.  Forty-eight 
cities,  with  their  suburbs,  as  glebes  or  pasture  fields, 
were  given  them  for  homes.  (See  Dr.  B.  L.  Agnew's 
paper,  "Ministerial  Support/') 

One-tenth  of  all  the  incomes  of  the  people  was 
to  be  given  to  the  Lord — (observe  the  expression,  "to 
be  given  to  the  Lord") — for  the  use  of  the  Levites; 
and  it  was  regarded  as  deliberate  robbery  of  God  not 
to  pay  the  tithes  he  commanded.  Another  tenth  was 
to  be  given  for  their  sacrifices  and  feasts.  Deut.  xiv:  22. 
And  then  there  was  a  third  tithe  every  third  year  for 
the  poor.  Deut.  xiv:  28.  Although  a  great  many 
think  this  is  identical  with  the  second  tithe.  And 
when  we  remember  that  in  addition  to  all  this  each 
one  was  required  to  give  the  first  fruits,  both  of  his 
flocks  and  of  his  fields,  which  were  by  custom  a  sixtieth 
of  the  whole  (see  article,  " First  Fruits,"  in  Smith's 
Bible  Dictionary);  that  money  was  to  be  paid  as 
the  ransom  of  the  first-born  male  child;  that  in 
reaping,  the  corners  of  the  field  were  to  be  left  for 
the  poor,  which  by  custom  was  to  be  the  sixtieth  of 
the  whole  (see  article,  "Corners,"  S.  B.  D.);  that 
whatever  fell  from  the  reaper's  hands  belonged  to  the 


GOD'S  RULE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  GIVING-  425 

poor;  that  every  seventh  year  all  the  fields  were  to 
be  left  untilled,  to  produce  spontaneously  for  the 
poor;  that  every  seventh  year  all  debts  were  to  be 
remitted;  that  there  were  three  yearly  journeys  to 
Jerusalem  required  of  all  the  males  at  the  festivals — 
that  there  was  the  half  shekel  for  the  sanctuary-abund- 
ant free-will  offerings  for  maintaining  the  school  of 
the  prophets,  building  their  tabernacle,  temple  and 
synagogues,  and  hospitalities  and  gifts  for  the  poor,  we 
can  not  avoid  the  conclusion  that  a  conscientious  He- 
brew could  not  have  spent  less  than  one-third  of  his 
annual  income  in  charitable  and  religious  gifts.  This 
may  seem  like  a  wonderful  exhibition  of  liberality. 
But  it  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  "the  people  were  pros: 
perous  or  straitened  in  proportion  as  they  obeyed 
or  disobeyed  this  law."  "The  liberal  soul  shall  be 
made  fat."  "Bring  ye  all  the  tithes  into  the  storehouse, 
that  there  may  be  meat  in  mine  house,  and  prove  me 
now  herewith,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  if  I  will  not 
open  you  the  windows  of  heaven,  and  pour  you  out  a 
blessing  that  there  shall  not  be  room  enough  to  receive 
it."  When  they  honored  the  Lord  with  their  substance 
and  with  the  first  fruits  of  all  their  increase,  their 
barns  were  filled  with  plenty,  and  their  presses  burst 
out  with  new  wine.  But  when  they  robbed  God  in 
tithes  and  offerings,  they  soon  found  that  they  had 
robbed  themselves.  "Ye  are  cursed  with  a  curse,  for 
ye  have  robbed  me,  even  this  whole  nation."  "There 
is  that  withholdeth  more  than  is  meet,  but  it  tendeth 
to  poverty."  And  both  in  giving  such  a  law,  and  in 
its  providential  enforcement,  God  impressively  taught 


426  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

that  he  would  have  his  people  respond  to  his  gifts  by 
large  and  systematic  outlays  from  them.  Now,  let  no 
Christian  lay  the  flattering  unction  to  his  soul  that  the 
rigors  of  thejewish  Economy  have  passed  away — and, 
therefore,  he  is  not  bound  to  be  as  generous  as  they. 
Shall  the  moonlight  surpass  the  sunlight?  Shall  the 
letter  be  superior  to  the  spirit?  Shall  Judaism  ou.tstrip 
Christianity?  That  multitude  of  nominal  Christians 
who  do  so  much  less,  and  give  so  much  less  than  did 
the  Jews,  though  they  profess  to  be  governed  by  a 
higher  law,  should  remember  the  searching  words  of 
Christ:  uFor  I  say  unto  you,  that  except  your  right- 
eousness shall  exceed  the  righteousness  of  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees,  ye  shall  in  no  case  enter  the  kingdom  of 
heaven."  The  field  of  benevolence  for  the  Jews  was 
little  Palestine.  Our  field  is  the  world.  They  had 
the  Spirit  only  in  measure.  We  have  him  without 
measure;  and  if  the  principle  announced  by  Christ,  that 
to  whom  much  is  given  of  him  much  will  be  required, 
be  applicable,  a  much  more  generous  charity  is 
required  of  us.  "Every  point  of  comparison  between 
the  necessities  and  aspirations  of  Christianity  and  those 
of  Judaism,  puts  to  shame  the  thought  that  "Chris- 
tians" can  fail  here.  Christianity  has  far  greater  wants 
than  Judaism — the  wants  of  an  advanced  and  far  more 
cultivated  age  of  the  world;  the  wants  of  an  incom- 
parably more  varied  machinery;  the  wants  of  a  vigor- 
ous resistance  to  far  more  numerous,  active  and  skillful 
enemies;  the  wants  of  an  immensely  greater  popula- 
tion, and  more  debased,  in  Christian  lands;  the  wants 
of  a  whole  world  which  is  to  be  speedily  conquered 


GOD'S  RULE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  GIVING.*          427 

for  Christ. " — Dr.  Speer.  From  these  facts  it  inevita- 
bly follows  that  Christians  are  under  obligations  to 
exercise  a  larger  liberality  than  did  the  Jews. 

3,  On  the  day  of  Pentecost  this  love  was  expressed 
by  giving  all  to  the  Church.  The  ardor  of  their  first 
love  rose  up  like  a  mighty  stream  and  overflowed  all 
its  banks.  The  young  ruler  who  came  running  to 
Jesus,  and  inquiring  what  good  thing  he  might  do  and 
inherit  eternal  life,  lacked  this  self-sacrificing  love. 
And,  hence,  when  the  Savior  required  him  to  go,  sell 
all  that  he  had  and  give  the  poor,  and  "come  follow" 
him,  "he  went  away  sorrowful,  for  he  had  great  posses- 
sions.'' What  he  lacked  the  Pentecostal  converts 
possessed.  The  riches  of  their  grace  abounded.  Their 
motive  in  this  act  resolves  itself  into  three  elements: 
•a.  It  indicates  their  faith  in  Christ's  prediction.  He 
had  said  that  Jerusalem  would  be  destroyed  within 
that  generation.  Their  property  would  then  be  of  no 
value.  They  wished,  therefore,  in  the  meantime,  to 
make  the  best  possible  use  of  it  for  the  glory  of  the 
Redeemer  in  the  salvation  of  their  brethren.  Conse- 
quently they  sold  all  and  gave  the  price  thereof  to  the 
work.  b.  They  recognized  their  obligation,  as  the 
first  fruits  of  the  new  dispensation,  to  make  a  com- 
plete consecration  to  Christ.  Just  as  the  city  of  Jeri- 
cho, the  first  fruits  of  the  conquest  of  Canaan,  was  to 
be  dedicated,  so  the  Pentecostal  converts  and  their  all 
were  devoted.  That  was  an  acknowledgment  of  the 
right  of  property  Christ  has  in  his  people.  "Ye  are 
not  your  own,  ye  are  bought  with  a  price."  Our  pos- 
sessions, time,  talents,  bodies  and  souls  belong  to 


428  .        REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

Christ.  He  has  the  right  of  property  in  them,  and 
the  consequent  right  of  control.  "For  me  to  live  is 
Christ,"  i.  <?.,  all  that  I  am,  all  that  I  have,  and  all  that 
I  can  be  are  devoted  to  his  service,  c.  They  recog- 
nized the  fact  that  our  beneficence  is  approved  of 
Christ  in  proportion  as  it  means  sacrifice.  The  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  though  rich  in  the  glory  of  his  Father, 
for  our  sakes  became  poor.  The  same  mind  that  was 
in  Christ  Jesus  is  in  the  believer,  and  its  exercise  in 
the  same  self-sacrifice  is  to  the  Redeemer  an  odor  of  a 
sweet-smelling  savor.  The  disciples  left  all — "  Peter,  his 
house;  Mathew,  his  tax-tables;  James  and  John,  their 
fishing  nets" — and  followed  Christ,  and  their  reward  was 
"an  hundred  fold  in  this  life,  and  in  the  world  to  come 
everlasting  life."  As  the  Savior  sac  in  the  temple,  and 
saw  the  Jews  bring  in  their  princely  offerings,  he 
beheld  a  poor  widow  casting  in  two  mites,  which 
make  a  farthing.  "That  went  to  his  heart,  and  using 
that  'Verily,  amen/  with  an  emphasis  which  he  only 
could  use,  he  declared  that  she  had  cast  in  more  than 
they  all.  While  they  gave  of  their  abundance,  she, 
out  of  her  penury,  gave  all  that  she  had,  even  all  her 
living.  Hers  was  more  than  the  sum  total  of  all  the  rest, 
because  there  was  more  of  a  sacrifice  made,  more  of  be- 
nevolent heart  expended,  and  a  deeper  and  richer  partic- 
pation  in  its  sanctifying  influence,  which  is  the  ultimate 
end  of  all  gifts." — Cooke.  The  Savior  here  set  his  seal 
upon  the  fact  that  our  gifts  are  measured  by  the  sacri- 
fice they  represent.  Only  such  gifts  are  twice  blessed 
— blessing  him  that  gives,  and  him  that  takes.  This 
was  the  first  love  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  it  was 


GOD'S  RULE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  GIVING.   ,        429 

invincible.  You  see  a  river  flowing  along  a  smooth 
and  glassy  current,  and  you  say  it  is  beautiful.  You 
see  the  same  river  swelling  up,  filling  its  banks  to  the 
brim,  and  flowing  on  with  its  mighty  current,  and  you 
say  it  is  grand.  And  you  see  that  river  overflowing 
its  banks,  and  carrying  destruction  before  it,  and  you 
say  it  is  terrible.  So  the  love  of  the  Patriarchal 
Church,  which  found  expression  in  giving  one-tenth, 
was  beautiful.  The  love  of  the  Jewish  Church,  which 
found  expression  in  giving  one-third,  was  grand.  But 
the  love  of  the  Pentecostal  Church,  which  found  ex- 
pression in  complete  consecration,  was  terrible.  It 
was  blessed  with  power  from  above.  Before  it  Pagan 
Rome  went  down,  and  Christianity  ascended  the 
throne  of  the  Caesars. 

4.  In  the  Apostolic  age  and,  of  course,  in  all  the 
New  Testament  dispensation,  this  love  is  expressed  by 
a  large,  systematic  and  cheerful  beneficence  according 
to  the  preceding  principles.  "Upon  the  first  day  of 
the  week  let  every  one  of  you  lay  by  him  in  store  as 
God  hath  prospered  him."  We  cannot  help  recog- 
nizing this  as  a  Divine  command,  from  the  fact  that  it 
is  so  unique,  brief  and  simple.  "As  I  have  given 
order,"  is  the  terse  expression  with  which  the  Apostle 
introduces  it.  By  virtue  of  his  Apostolic  authority, 
he  gave  "order,"  and  it  is  as  obligatory  as  his  "order" 
to  be  baptized  or  to  observe  the  Lord's  supper.  The 
Ten  Commandments  contain  but  one  hundred  and  fifty 
eight  words;  the  Lord's  prayer  seventy-three,  and  this 
command  twenty-two.  Let  us  examine  it. 

a.  All   must  give.     "Let  every  one.''     The  gospel 


430  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

does  not  release  the  poor  from  giving.  The  smallest 
income  can  pay  a  proportion.  There  is  a  great  deal 
of  charity  in  the  famous  watchword  of  the  Methodist 
Church:  "Justification,  sanctification  and  a  penny  a 
week."  The  Macedonian  Church  was  praised  for  giv- 
ing in  "their  deep  poverty."  Christ  commended  the 
poor  widow  for  giving  "two  mites/'  which  was  all  her 
living.  A  missionary  testifies  that  "the  beneficence  of 
Louise  Osborn,  a  colored  domestic,  who,  from  the 
wages  of  one  dollar  a  week,  paid  twenty  dollars  a  year 
to  educate  a  youth  in  Ceylon,"  had  a  moral  power  upon 
mission  equal  to  thousands  of  dollars.  Children  should 
give.  God  loves  to  have  little  children  come  to  him 
with  gifts  which  express  the  love  of  their  hearts. 
Ministers  should  give.  The  priests  and  Levites  were 
required  to  tithe  the  gifts  of  the  people  upon  which 
they  subsisted.  Ministers  must  not  be  denied  the 
sanctifying  influence  of  almsgiving. 

b.  Our  appropriations  must  be  frequent  and  stated 
"On  the  first  day  of  the  week. "  While  one,  and  per- 
haps the  main  design,  was  to  connect  our  gifts  with 
sacred  services,  in  having  them  set  apart  on  the  Lord's 
day,  it  was  also  intended  to  secure  frequent  and  stated 
donations.  Periodicity  is  the  balance  wheel  to  regu- 
late our  giving.  ''These  appropriations  must  be  fre- 
quent to  keep  pace  with  our  earnings  and  with  the  con- 
stant calls  of  benevolence;  stated,  that  they  may  not 
be  forgotten.  And  hence  they  may  with  propriety  be 
regularly  booked.  A  line  written  on  a  memorandum 
of  his  charities,  kept  by  a  systematic  giver,  and  found 
after  his  death,  suggests  an  important  reason  for  keeping 


GOD'S  RULE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  GIVING.  431 

such  a  record.  'I  keep  this  memorandum  lest  I  should 
think  I  give  more  than  I  do.' " — Dr.  Harris.  This  law  of 
frequent  and  stated  appropriations  cuts  up  by  the  roots 
the  common  practice  of  giving  large  sums  and  then 
for  a  long  time  nothing;  and  also  that  of  giving  only  or 
chiefly  at  death.  It  also  repudiates  the  practice  of 
waiting  to  be  solicited.  Like  the  impoverished  but 
liberal  Macedonians,  we  must  be  "willing  of  ourselves." 
The  giver,  and  not  the  receiver,  should  be  the  solicit- 
ing party,  as  Paul  describes  the  Macedonians,  "pray- 
ing as  with  much  entreaty  that  we  should  receive  the 
gift,  and  take  upon  us  the  fellowship  of  the  ministering 
to  the  saints. "  This  will  be  the  inevetable  result  of 
stated  and  frequent  giving. 

c.  Donations  should  be  increased  with  the  ability  to 
give.  "As  God  hath  prospered  him."  This  rule  is  so 
adjusted  as  to  be  a  perfect  index  of  the  degree  of  love 
to  Christ  in  the  heart,  just  as  the  temperature  is  indi- 
cated by  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  mercury.  The  Jews 
were  required  to  bring  in  their  tithes  and  offerings  uas 
God  had  prospered  them. "  And  those  who  loved 
much  brought  great  stores,  and  those  who  loved  little 
brought  only  a  small  portion.  It  is  so  with  Chris- 
tians. Those  who  love  the  Savior  ardently  wil  devote 
a  large  share  to  his  service,  and  those  who  are  cold 
will  come  with  as  small  a  gift  as  can  be  made.  But 
the  duty  stands  all  the  same.  Increasing  wealth  re- 
quires us  to  increase  the  proportion  of  our  donations, 
even  though  we  must  give  thousands  of  dollars  where 
before  we  gave  but  one.  And  the  large  donations  of 
the  rich  man  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  more  praise- 


432  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

worthy  than  the  small  donations  of  the  poor  man,  for 
they  require  no  greater  sacrifice.  To  illustrate:  A 
man  whose  income  is  $30,000  a  year  is  under  as  much 
obligation  to  give  $10,000  a  year  for  benevo- 
lence as  he  was  to  give  $100  when  his  income  was 
only  $i  ,000;  and  the  present  large  donation  is  no  more 
praiseworthy  than  his  former  small  one,  because  it 
requires  no  greater  sacrifice.  In  both  cases  the  giver 
has  but  done  what  it  was  his  duty  to  do. 

d.  The  rich  must  give  a  larger  proportion  of  their 
income  than  the  poor.  This  is  the  only  fair  and  legiti- 
mate interpretation  of  the  expression,  "as  God  hath 
prospered  him."  A  poor  widow  with  a  helpless  fami- 
ly cannot  give  one-tenth  without  taking  bread  out  of 
her  children's  mouths.  Will  any  one  claim  that  a  pro- 
portion that  is  just  and  right  for  her  is  just  and  right 
for  the  man  of  means?  The  proportion  must  be  gauged 
by  the  amount  of  the  income.  Zaccheus  gave  half  of 
his  goods  to  feed  the  poor,  besides  restoring  four-fold, 
his  unjust  gains.  Paul  repeatedly  intimates  that  he 
had  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things  for  Christ's  sake.  "It 
is  recorded  of  a  certain  Christian  in  the  first  century 
that  he  sold  himself  as  a  slave  to  a  heathen  family  to 
get  access  to  them  for  their  conversion,  and  for  years 
cheerfully  endured  the  labor  and  condition  of  a  slave 
till  he  succeeded  with  the  whole  family  and  took  his 
liberty  from  the  gratitude  of  the  converts." — Dr.  Cooke- 
During  that  period  many  poor  Christians  kept  periodic 
fasts  in  order  that  they  might  contribute  to  the  church 
their  gains  by  abstinence  from  food.  Many  wealthy 
converts  sold  their  possessions  and  gave  all  to  the 


GOD'S  RULE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  GIVING.  433 

church,  supporting  themselves  by  daily  labor.  When 
John  Wesley's  income  was  £30  a  year;  he  lived  on 
£28  and  gave  £2  for  benevolence;  the  next  year  his 
income  was  £60,  and  still  living  on  £28,  he  had  £32 
to  contribute.  The  fourth  year  his  income  was  raised 
to  £120,  and,  steadfast  to  his  plan,  he  contributed  £92." 
Mr.  N.  R.  Cobb,  a  merchant  of  Boston,  adopted  a  cov- 
enant to  this  effect:  "To  give  at  the  out-set  one-quar- 
ter of  the  net  profits  of  his  business;  should  he  ever 
be  worth  $20,000  to  give  one  half  of  the  net  profits; 
if  worth  $30,000  to  give  three-quarters;  and  if  ever 
worth  $50,000,  to  give  all  the  profits."  This  covenant 
he  kept  till  his  death  at  the  age  of  thirty- six,  when  he 
had  already  acquired  $50,000,  and  was  giving  all  his 
profits.  These  are  fair  samples  of  the  fruits  which  the 
New  Testament  rule  produces.  Christ  certainly  ex- 
pects returns  proportional  to  men's  means:  five  talents 
from  those  that  have  received  five,  ten  talents  from 
those  that  have  received  ten.  He  says  to  every  man: 
"Remember  how  thou  owest  unto  me,  even  thine  own 
self."  All  that  men  are  and  have  they  owe  to  be  used 
as  Christ's  service  demands.  Josiah  Strong's  chapter, 
on  "Money  and  Kingdom"  has  some  very  suggestive 
illustrations.  "When  the  priest  was  consecrated,  the 
blood  of  the  ram  was  put  upon  the  right  ear,  the 
thumb  of  the  right  hand,  and  the  great  toe  of  the  right 
foot,  indicating  that  he  should  come  and  go,  use  his 
hands  and  powers  of  mind,  in  short,  his  entire  self,  in 
the  service  of  God."  That  is  our  object  lesson.  "I 
beseech  you,  therefore,  brethren,  that  ye  present  your 
bodies  a  living  sacrifice."  A  Japanese  family  was 


434  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

greatly  prospered  in  the  use  of  the  "self-restraint  box." 
This  is  the  account  which  the  master  of  the  house  gives 
of  it:  "If  I  would  buy  a  dollar  garment,  and  I  manage 
by  self  restraint  and  economy  to  get  it  for  eighty  cents, 
the  remainder  I  drop  into  the  "self-restraint  box;5' 
or,  if  I  would  give  a  five-dollar  feast  to  my  friends,  I 
exercise  self-restraint  and  economy,  and  give  it  for 
four,  dropping  the  remaining  dollar  into  the  box;  or,  if 
I  determine  to  build  a  house  that  shall  cost  one  hun- 
dred dollars,  I  exercise  self-restraint  and  economy  and 
build  it  for  eighty,  putting  the  remaining  twenty  into 
the  box  as  an  offering  to  'the  great,  bright  god  of  self- 
restraint.'  On  the  second  day  of  the  New  Year  this 
family  assembles,  engages  in  the  worship  of  this  god, 
and  then  the  box  is  opened  and  its  contents  distributed 
to  the  poor.  We  find  the  discipline  a  great  blessing 
to  ourselves,  and  hundreds  of  hearts  are  made  glad." 
Barring  the  idolatry,  Christians  have  here  an  excellent 
example.  The  homage  which  they  pay  to  "the  great, 
bright  god  of  self-restraint,"  we  should  pay  to  the 
King  of  kings.  It  is  in  striking  contrast  with  the  spirit 
discovered  by  an  Ohio  church  treasurer  (a  professed 
Christian),  who,  "when  his  pastor  brought  his  annual 
contribution  to  the  American  Board,  said  to  him,  'You 
ought  not  to  do  it.  I  don't  think  it's  right.  You 
ought  to  stop  giving  to  missions,  and  preach  to  us  on  a 
smaller  salary;'  adding  in  conclusion,  'We  are  heath- 
ens.' A  proposition  which  few  enlightened  men  would 
be  disposed  to  controvert,  though  it  is  a  hard  rub  on 
the  heathen."  But  there  are  consecrated  spirts  in  the 
church.  Dr.  Cuyler  says  he  once  had  a  seamstress 


GOD'S  RULE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  GIVING.  435 

in  his  church  who  gave  one  hundred  dollars  a  year  to 
missions.  "Sarah  Hoswell,  of  Lowell,  though  a  poor 
woman,  supported  a  student  in  the  Nestorian  Seminary, 
who  became  a  preacher  of  Christ.  Five  times  she 
gave  fifty  dollars,  earning  the  money  in  a  factory,  and 
sent  out  five  native  pastors  to  Christian  work.  When 
more  than  sixty  years  old,  she  longed  to  furnish  Nesto- 
ria  with  one  more  preacher  of  Christ,  and,  living  in 
an  attic,  she  took  in  sewing  until  she  had  accomplished 
her  cherished  purpose.  A  spirit  of  consecration  trans- 
formed the  factory  girl  and  seamstress  into  a  missionary 
of  the  cross,  and  then  multiplied  her  six-fold."  The 
Savior  commended  the  poor  widow  who  gave  all  she 
had — even  all  her  living.  A  church  made  up  of  such 
members  could  take  the  whole  world  for  Christ.  But 
only  a  few  are  devoted.  There  are  few  Marys  to  give, 
but  many  a  Judas  to  calculate  the  value  of  the  alabas- 
ter box  of  .ointment.  "A  church  in  Hartford  gave 
eleven  hundred  dollars  to  home  missions.  One  lady 
said  to  another:  'Didn't  we  do  well  this  morning?* 
'No;  not  as  a  church,'  was  the  reply.  'For  one  lady 
gave  six  hundred  dollars,  and  one  gentleman  three 
hundred.'"  That  is  an  average  congregation.  The 
work  depends  upon  a  few.  Heathen  converts  put  us 
to  shame.  "Six  native  Christians,  living  on  the  banks 
of  the  Euphrates,  whose  property  averaged,  perhaps, 
eight  hundred  dollars,  gave  towards  their  chapel  and 
school-room  three  hundred  and  eighty  dollars,  an 
average  of  more  than  fifty  dollars  each.  'This  contri- 
bution,' adds  the  missionary,  'means  for  one  of  those 
poor  mountaineers  more  than  one  thousand  days' 


436  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

work.'  It  is  an  amazing  circumstance  that,  in  1881,  the 
1,200  church  members  belonging  to  the  mission  of  the 
United  Presbyterian  Board,  in  Egypt — most  of  them 
very  poor  men  and  women — raised  £4,546,  or  more 
than  seventeen  dollars  each,  for  the  support  of  churches 
and  schools.  The  Baptists,  among  the  Karens,  have 
done  equally  well."  We  take  great  satisfaction  to 
ourselves  because  the  churches  in  America  give 
$5,500,000  a  year  for  missions.  But  that  is  only  fifty 
cents  per  member.  If  we  gave  as  much  per  caput  for 
home  and  foreign  missions  as  they  gave  for  schools 
and  churches,  our  offering  would  be  $170,000,000, 
instead  of  five  and  a  half  millions. 

Rev.  Arthur  T.  Pierson,  D.  D.,  has  an  article  in 
the  Homiletic  Review  for  April,  1888,  on  "The  Grace 
of  Giving."  "Three  things  are  to  be  dedicated:  our 
time,  in  recognition  of  which  we  give  one-seventh,  our 
property,  in  acknowledgment  of  which  we  give  one- 
tenth,  our  hearts,  offered  in  secret  prayer.  In  the  holy 
of  holies,  in  the  temple,  was  the  golden  candlestick 
with  its  seven  lamps,  a  symbol  of  our  time;  the  table  of 
show-bread,  a  symbol  of  our  substance,  and  the  golden 
altar,  the  incense  upon  which  symbolized  our  prayers, 
all  devoted  to  God.  Shaftsbury  speaks  with  contempt 
of  'munificent  bequests,'  as  though  there  was  any  real 
munificence  in  giving  away  what  one  can  no  longer 
keep  or  use  for  himself;  but  emphasizes  munificent 
donations,  in  which  the  donor  anticipates  the  ultimate 
reward  by  the  joy  of  giving  and  of  blessing  others. 
Bishop  Coxe  says  he  knows  a  man  in  Western  New 
York  who  puts  five  cents  aside  offering  on  Sabbath 


GOD'S  RULE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  GIVING.  437 

days  in  the  free  church  in  which  he  stands,  but  pays 
$800  a  season  for  an  opera  box;  and  The  Living 
Church  matches  him  with  a  millionaire  of  its  acquaint- 
ance who  subscribes  $i  a  Sabbath  towards  the  expense 
of  his  church,  but  stops  payment  during  his  winter 
excursions  in  the  South,  in  which  he  expends  thou- 
sands of  dollars  upon  himself  and  family.  Dr.  William 
Kincaid  says  'a  friend  of  mine  receiving  some  money 
at  the  hands  of  a  bank  officer  the  other  day  noticed 
depending  from  one  of  the  bills  a  little  scarlet  thread. 
He  tried  to  pull  it  out,  but  found  jt  was  woven  into 
the  very  texture  of  the  note,  and  could  not  be  with- 
drawn. 'Ah!'  said  the  banker,  'you  will  find  that  all 
the  government  bills  are  made  so  now.  It  is  an  expe- 
dient to  prevent  counterfeiting.'  Just  so  Christ  has 
woven  the  scarlet  thread  of  his  blood  into  every  dollar 
that  the  Christian  owns.  It  cannot  be  withdrawn;  it 
marks  it  as  his.  My  brother,  my  sister,  when  you  take 
out  a  government  note  to  expend  for  some  needless 
luxury,  notice  the  scarlet  thread  therein  and  reflect  that 
it  belongs  to  Christ.  How  can  we  trifle  with  the  price 
of  the  blood?  Charlptte  Maria  Tucker,  pleading  for  a 
new  mission  station  in  the  Punjaub,says:  'It  has  often 
occurred  to  me  that  many  good  servants  of  God  are 
not  sufficiently  ingenious  in  finding  out  ways  to  increase 
their  means  of  giving.  When  in  Israel's  tabernacle, 
brass  was  required  for  a  laver,  the  women  gave  their 
metal  mirrors !  What  a  sacrifice  of  vanity  was  there  \ 
A  Mohammedan  woman  here  has  lately  devoted  her 
jewels  which  adorned  her  head  (120  rupees  in  value) 
to  swell  the  subscription  for  Turkey.  Is  there  here  no 


438  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

example  for  us?  Many  a  Christian  lady  could  sacri- 
fice the  gold  chain  and  the  jeweled  ring  and  so  realize 
the  delight  of  laying  her  gems  at  the  feet  of  her  Lord. 
Why  should  the  table  of  the  Christian  gentleman  be 
loaded  with  superfluous  plate,  when  it  might  afford 
him  the  pleasure  of  laying  up  treasures  in  heaven? 
Franklin's  plan  was  to  lend  to  a  poor  fellow  in  need 
and  require  payment  to  be  made,  when  the  borrower 
had  the  ability,  to  some  other  person  in  need.  This 
avoided  the  humiliation  of  accepting  a  charity,  while 
it  gave  aid  when  there  was  most  necessity,  and  passed 
it  on  to  some  other  needy  recipient  by  and  by.'  I  am 
accused  of  slopping  over.  I  suppose  I  do  slop  over 
at  times.  Well,  it's  the  mistake  of  temperament  and 
disposition.  Can  you  carry  a  brimming  pail  without  it 
slopping  over?  Put  a  pint  of  milk  in  a  big  bucket, 
and  it  will  stay  there.  And  take  a  man  that  has  but  a 
pint  in  him,  and  if  he  is  a  roomy  man  there  is  no  dan- 
ger he'll  slop  over.  But  bring  a  bucket  of  water  from 
the  well  and  it  will  be  dripping,  dripping, dripping  all  the 
way,  and  every  blade  of  grass,  every  daisy,  will  be  glad 
of  it.  So  don't  be  sorry  you  have  been  generous  to 
an  unworthy  object.  You  can't  afford  to  calculate 
when  you'll  be  mean.  Give  your  hearts  some  head- 
way and  in  the  long  run  it  will  be  better. " 

A  manufacturer  in  New  York  becomes  involved  and 
is  forced  to  sell.  He  hears  of  a  wealthy  man  who 
wishes  to  buy.  He  goes  to  him  and  says:  "My  man- 
ufactory is  worth  $20,000,  but  I  am  in  great  straits 
and  will  sell  it  to  you  for  $15,000."  "I  will  consult 
my  wife  and  answer  you  tomorrow."  When  he 


GOD'S  RULE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  GIVING.  439 

states  the  facts  to  his  wife  she  says,  "Is  the  manufactory 
really  worth  $20,000?"  "Yes,  I  believe  it  is."  "Then 
you  ought  to  pay  him  $20,000  for  it."  The  next  day 
he  goes  to  the  owner  and  says,  "I  will  take  the  manu- 
factory at  $20,000. "  That  is  following  the  Golden 
Rule. 

When  a  girl  comes  and  offers  her  services  in  your 
family  at  $20  per  month,  is  it  your  custom  to  say, 
"Twenty-five  dollars  is  little  enough.  I  will  give  you 
$25  a  month?"  A  widow  of  eighty  years  resides  in 
Baltimore.  She  depends  upon  her  daughter.  Her 
son  of  seventeen  years  is  sickly,  is  serving  with  a 
plumber  and  receives  $2.50  a  week.  The  daughter 
makes  pantaloons  for  a  tailor  at  thirty-five  cents  a  pair, 
finding  her  own  thread  and  buttons.  She  could  make 
two  pairs  a  day  if  she  had  no  household  duties.  But 
with  these  she  can  only  average  one  and  a  half  pairs. 
He  has  a  heart  of  stone  who  does  not  more  wisely 
consider  the  case  of  this  poor  woman.  That  tailor  is 
not  doing  by  her  as  he  would  wish  to  be  done  by.  A 
brother  offends  and  you  must  reprove  him.  That  is 
washing  his  feet.  Be  sure  and  do  not  use  too  hot 
water;  that  will  scald  him — hot  words.  Do  not  use 
too  cold  water;  that  will  chill  him — the  cold  shoulder. 

We  are  Christ's  stewards,  and  must  give  an  account. 
A  wealthy  Christian  in  Philadelphia  takes  his  family 
west  on  a  pleasure  trip  costing  $1,000.  He  also  paid 
$80  to  take  a  pet  dog  along.  Returning  home  he 
listened  to  an  appeal  for  foreign  missions  and  gave  $5 
in  the  collection.  How  will  that  be  accounted  for? 
Seventy  years  ago  the  Baptist  body  divided,  one  for, 


440  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

the  other  against  missions.  To-day  the  anti-missionary 
division  has  45,000  members,  while  the  missionary 
division  has  2,500,000.  The  wealth  of  the  United 
States  is  $50,000,000,000.  At  least  $10,000,000,000 
belongs  to  Evangelical  churches.  Last  year  they  gave 
$4,000,000  to  home  missions  and  $3,000,000  to  for- 
eign missions.  "That  is  withholding  more  than  is 
meet."  "It  tendeth  to  poverty."  "Bring  ye  all  the 
tithes  into  the  storehouse,  that  there  may  be  meat  in 
mine  house,  and  prove  me  now  herewith  if  I  will  not 
open  to  you  the  windows  of  heaven  and  pour  you  out 
a  blessing  until  there  shall  not  be  room  enough  to  re- 
ceive it." 

And  should  this  fundamental  principle  be  accepted, 
and  the  New  Testament  law  of  giving,  which  is  based 
upon  it,  be  adopted,  the  Church  would  avail  herself  of 
one  of  the  most  powerful  means  of  grace;  and  she 
would  bring  down  upon  herself  such  a  flood  of  tem- 
poral and  spiritual  blessings  that  there  would  not  be 
room  enough  to  receive  it.  She  would  take  hold  of 
the  ten  thousand  millions  of  dollars  of  gold  and  silver 
that  are  now  in  the  world  as  a  mighty  lever,  and  with 
it  uplift  the  earth  and  cause  it  to  revolve  on  a  new  axis 
of  righteousness  and  peace,  and  she  would  soon  enjoy 
the  millennium  of  peace  that  is  promised  in  the  latter 
day. 

III.  Incentives  to  Christian  Giving,  i.  It  is  a  most 
important  means  of  grace.  Read  the  eighth  and  ninth 
chapters  of  2  Corinthians.  See  how  adroitly  the 
Apostle  enforces  the  duty  of  benevolence  from  this 
one  consideration,  that  it  is  a  grace  of  God.  He  holds 


GOD'S  RULE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  GIVING.  441 

up  "the  churches  of  Macedonia"  as  an  example.  They 
contributed  out  of  "their  deep  poverty"  "even  beyond 
their  power."  And  the  cause  of  "the  riches  of  their 
liberality"  was  their  consecration  of  themselves  to  God 
in  public  covenanting.  "And  this  they  did,  not  as  we 
had  hoped,  but  first  gave  their  own  selves  to  the  Lord, 
and  unto  us  by  the  will  of  God."  And  because  their 
wonderful  liberality  was  the  outcome  of  their  high  con- 
secration to  God,  it  must  be  a  grace.  Then  the  Apostle 
expresses  the  desire  that  this  same  grace  might  be 
finished  in  the  Corinthians.  "Therefore,  as  ye  abound 
in  every  thing,  in  faith  and  utterance  and  knowledge, 
and  in  all  diligence,  and  in  your  love  to  us,  see  that 
ye  abound  in  this  grace  also. "  Here  the  grace  of  giv- 
ing is  represented  as  occupying  an  honorable  position 
in  the  family  of  Christian  graces.  This  is  an  inherent 
element  in  the  divine  life  in  the  soul,  and  the  new 
nature  is  no  more  perfect  without  it  than  the  body  is 
perfect  with  a  limb  amputated  or  the  eyes  put  out. 
Then  the  Apostle  finds  a  still  more  forcible  illustration 
in  the  example  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  "For  ye 
know  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that,  though 
he  was  rich,  yet  for  our  sakes  he  became  poor,  that  ye 
through  his  poverty  might  be  rich."  The  same  Spirit 
that  was  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  in  his  people,  and 
the  same  grace  that  was  in  him  is  found  in  his  people. 
This  grace  had  a  marvelous  manifestation  in  him. 
He  was  rich  in  the  perfections  of  Jehovah,  possessor  of 
heaven  and  earth,  and  infinitely  blessed  and  glorious. 
For  the  sake  of  his  people  he  emptied  himself  of  his 
glory  and  became  incarnate,  lived  a  life  of  suffering 


442  REFORM  A  7 1  ON  PRINCIPLES. 

and  want,  and  died  the  accursed  death  of  the  cross. 
The  spirit  of  self-sacrifice  is  without  a  parallel  in  the 
universe.  Now  this  same  spirit  will  manifest  itself  in 
the  lives  of  his  people  in  the  same  self-sacrificing 
obedience.  Our  benevolence  then  is  acceptable  to  God 
and  cultivates  grace  in  our  hearts  only  in  proportion  as 
it  is  a  sacrifice.  "The  Emperor  Decius  commanded  the 
deacon  of  Rome  to  deliver  up  all  the  treasures  of  the 
church.  He  asked  one. day  to  gather  them.  He  col- 
lected all  the  poor  and  sick  of  the  church  and  said  to 
the  tyrant:  These  are  the  treasures  of  the  church.  In 
the  time  of  Chrysostem  the  church  had  on  her  catalogue 
three  thousand  beneficiaries."  No  wonder  the  fires  of 
such  zeal  spread  far  and  wide!  Such  is  the  spirit  of 
self-sacrifice  that  this  grace  begets  in  the  soul.  And 
if  such  a  spirit  were  infused  into  the  church,  the  nations 
would  be  born  in  a  day. 

But  it  will  also  appear  to  be  a  means  of  grace  in 
that  it  mortifies  the  flesh.  It  roots  out  our  co  vetousness, 
that  prime  sin  of  the  world.  Covetousness  is  the  par- 
ent stock  of  selfishness,  which,  once  admitted,  takes 
possession  of  the  soul,  "spreads  and  fortifies  itself,  and 
leaves  no  place  in  the  heart  for  homage  to  God. " 
It  smites  with  a  palsy  every  power  of  the  soul,  gluts 
the  affections  with  the  treasures  of  earth,  and  makes 
us  set  no  value  on  the  pearl  of  great  price.  It  is  "the 
love  of  money"  that  "is  the  root  of  all  evil,"  and  that 
which  makes  it  is  easier  for  a  camel  to  go  through  the 
eye  of  a  needle  than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  the  king- 
dom of  heaven.  It  is  that  which  makes  the  rich  man's 
desire  for  more  ever  increase;  so,  "that  in  the  midst  of 


GOD'S  RULE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  GIVltfG.  443 

his  greatest  acquisitions,  he  remains  the  very  realiza- 
tion of  those  lean  and  ill-favored  kine  which  devoured 
all  that  was  fair  and  thriving  before  them,  only  to  re- 
main as  lean,  as  ill-favored,  and  as  voracious  as  ever/' 
It  is  to  the  soul  what  the  tape-worm  is  to  the  body, 
devouring  its  victim's  food,  nourishing  itself  to  greater 
bulk    and  voracity  thereby,  while  the  wretched   man 
is    wasting    in    the    torment    of  perpetual    starvation. 
(See    "Zaccheus,"    by    Rev.    S.    Harris.)      The    only 
relief    is    in    killing    this    devouring    monster — covet- 
ousness — and  killing  it  speedily,  before  it  proves  itself 
"the  worm  that  never  dies."     Regular  and  systematic 
giving  is  the  sword  by  which  this  ugly  monster,  covet- 
ousness,  is  to  be  slain.     Week  by  week  he  receives  a 
deadly  wound.     Every  contribution  crucifies  him  anew. 
Neglect  this  means  and  your  enemy  will  soon  throttle 
you.      Diligently   improve  them,  and  though  he  may 
be  long  a  dying,  yet  you  will  surely  trample  him  under 
your  feet.   And  in  conquering  your  enemy  will  find  that 
you  have  only  been  developing  your  own  spiritual  pow- 
ers and  verifying  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  "  It  is  more 
blessed  to  give  than  to  receive.''     Giving  develops  the 
new  and  better  man  within,  for  it  has  been  declared  by 
Jehovah    to    be    more  blessed  to    do    good  to    others 
than    to    receive  good  from  them.     Giving  draws  out 
that  love  to  God  and  our  fellow-men  which  is  the  ful- 
fillment of  the  law.     For  just  as  the  Great  Giver  loves 
us  infinitely  more  than  we  love  him,  just  as  parents  love 
their  children  more  than  their  children  love  them,  just 
as  patriots  love  their  country  more  than  their  country 
loves  them,  and  just  as  philanthropists  love  the  desti- 


444  REFORMATION  PRINCIPLES. 

tute  more  than  the  destitute  love  them,  so  we  love 
those  most  upon  which  we  bestow  our  benevolence. 
Giving  begets  joy  and  sunshine  in  the  heart,  for  it  is 
unquestionably  a  greater  pleasure  to  impart  happiness 
to  others  than  to  receive  it  from  them.  Giving  perfects 
in  us  the  character  of  those  who  stand  before  God, 
surrounded  by  the  hosts  of  holy  angels,  and  bearing 
the  image  of  him  who  sits  upon  the  throne,  are,  like 
him,  eternally  doing  good. 

2.  //  secures  temporal  prosperity.  God's  provi- 
dences are  so  adjusted  that  nature  works  for  the 
liberal  soul  and  against  those  who  withhold  their 
gifts.  It  is  a  law,  fixed  and  immutable,  that  "he 
which  soweth  sparingly  shall  reap  also  sparingly; 
and  he  which  soweth  bountifully  shall  reap  also 
bountifully."  To  this  we  have  abundant  testimony  in 
the  Scriptures:  " Honor  the  Lord  with  thy  substance, 
and  the  first  fruits  of  all  thine  increase.  So  shall  thy 
barns  be  filled  with  plenty  and  thy  presses  shall  burst 
out  with  new  wine."  "There  is  that  scattereth  and 
yet  increaseth,  and  there  is  that  withholdeth  more  than 
is  meet,  but  it  tendeth  to  poverty/'  "The  liberal  soul 
shall  be  made  fat,  and  he  that  watereth  shall  be  watered 
also  himself. ''  "  He  that  hath  pity  on  the  poor,  lendeth 
to  the  Lord;  and  that  which  he  hath  given  will  he  pay 
him  again."  "He  that  hath  a  bountiful  eye  shall  be 
blessed,  for  he  giveth  of  his  bread  to  the  poor."  "Bring 
ye  all  the  tithes  into  the  storehouse,  and  prove  me  now 
herewith,  if  I  will  not  open  you  the  windows  of  heaven 
and  pour  you  out  a  blessing  that  there  shall  not  be 
room  enough  to  receive  it. "  These  Scriptures  have  a 


GOD'S  RULE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  GIVING.  445 

meaning.  You  hear  God  himself  saying,  "With  what 
measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  to  you  again. 
Give  and  it  shall  be  given  unto  you;  good  measure, 
pressed  down,  shaken  together,  and  running  over.'' 
The  facts  justify  the  claim.  Look  at  the  retributions 
of  Providence.  I  remember  a  professing  Christian 
who  on  a  certain  year  withheld  his  hand  from  giving. 
During  that  year  he  lost  $1,000  in  bad  debts.  Why 
had  he  not  rather  have  contributed  that  $1,000  to 
God's  cause  and  had  the  forces  of  Providence  work- 
ing in  his  favor?  I  remember  a  Christian  farmer 
who  concluded  that  money  contributed  was  lost,  and 
on  a  certain  year  refused  to  give.  That  year  two  of 
his  finest  horses  died,  valued  at  $600.  How  much 
better  would  it  have  been  for  him  to  have  contributed 
that  $600  to  God's  cause  and  had  the  forces  of  Provi- 
dence working  in  his  favor?  I  remember  a  Christian 
merchant  who  became  disgusted  with  the  management 
of  missions  and  refused  to  give  a  mite  from  his  abund- 
ance. Shortly  after  a  midnight  fire  destroyed  his 
property  to  the  amount  of  $10,000.  How  much  bet- 
ter it  would  have  been  for  him  to  have  cheerfully  contrib- 
uted $10,000  and  had  the  forces  of  Providence  working 
in  his  favor?  '  There  is  a  nature  of  things  that  work 
against  those  who  withhold  God's  gifts.  It  is  a  great, 
immutable,  pre  existent  law,  prior  to  all  our  devices 
and  contrivances,  paramount  to  all  our  ideas  and  con- 
ceptions, by  which  we  are  knit  and  connected  in  the 
frame  of  the  moral  universe  and  out  of  which  we  can 
not  stir.  It  is  equally  true  that  God's  providences 
favor  the  benevolent.  Jacob  adopted  and  practiced  a 


446  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

rule  of  systematic  giving.  And  while  he  went  out 
of  his  father's  house  empty,  presently  he  returned  full 
and  loaded  with  wealth.  Andrew  Fuller  says  the  poor 
people  of  Glasgow  used  to  say,  "David  Dale  gives  his 
money  by  sho'elsful,  and  God  Almighty  sho'els  it  back 
again."  It  is  a  law  of  God's  moral  government  that 
"he  that  watereth  shall  also  be  watered  himself." 

3.  //  is  the  heaven- ordained  means  of  sustaining  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom.  When  a  nation  is  in  war  she 
must  have  funds  to  maintain  her  army.  Our  revolu- 
tionary statesmen  were  often  at  their  wit's  end  to  find 
how  to  get  adequate  supplies  for  so  exhausting  a  war, 
without  absorbing  the  means  and  alienating  the  hearts 
of  the  people.  During  the  late  war  Secretary  Chase 
devised  a  plan  for  gathering  into  the  public  treasury 
the  needed  percentage  of  the  existing  wealth  of  the 
people.  Now  the  kingdom  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
has  declared  war  upon  the  kingdoms  of  the  world,  and 
demands  unconditional  surrender.  "The  Captain  of 
our  salvation''  has  organized  his  army,  sworn  into  ser- 
vice "the  soldiers  of  the  cross,"  and  given  them  the 
banner  of  the  covenant.  He  led  his  church  against 
Rome  Pagan  and  the  empire  fell  before  him.  He  led 
his  church  against  Rome  nominally  Christian,  and  that 
system  fell  before  him  in  both  its  eastern  and  western 
sections.  He  is  leading  his  church  against  Rome 
Papal,  and  that  "system  of  iniquity"  is  falling  before 
him.  This  war  must  be  self-sustaining.  The  Redeem- 
er's plan  for  raising  the  supplies  is  found  equal  to  the 
emergency.  "Each  one"  contributing,  each  one  con- 
tributing "liberally,"  each  one  contributing  "systemat- 


GOD'S  RULE  FOR  CHRISTIAN  GIVING.  447 

ically,"  and  each  one  contributing  "freely,"  has  been 
found  a  plan  which  makes  the  war  self-supporting  in 
its  progress  and  cumulative  in  its  energies.  This  plan 
is  above  the  products  of  human  wisdom  as  much  as 
the  plan  of  salvation  by  the  cross.  In  its  simplicity 
there  is  a  comprehensive  and  far-reaching  skill.  In 
its  seeming  foolishness  there  is  the  wisdom  of  God 
and  the  power  of  God.  Its  beauty,  grandeur  and 
efficiency  will  yet  be  seen  on  the  earth  when  the 
prophecies  are  fulfilled.  "The  daughter  of  Tyre  shall 
be  there  with  a  gift;  the  rich  of  the  people  shall  en- 
treat thy  favor,"  "The  wealth  of  all  the  heathen 
round  about  shall  be  gathered  together,  gold  and  sil- 
ver, and  apparel  in  great  abundance. "  In  that  day 
shall  there  be  upon  the  bells  of  the  horses,  "Holiness 
to  the  Lord."  "Surely  the  isles  shall  wait  for  me,  and 
the  ships  of  Tarshish  first,  to  bring  thy  sons  from  afar, 
their  silver  and  their  gold  with  them,  to  the  Holy  One 
of  Israel."  "I  will  shake  all  nations,  and  the  desire 
of  all  nations  shall  come.  The  silver  is  mine,  and  the 
gold  is  mine,  saith  the  Lord." 

Let  us  no  longer  appear  before  the  Lord  empty. 
When  Jacob  sent  his  sons  into  Egypt  to  buy  corn,  he 
put  a  present  in  their  hands  for  the  ruler.  When  the 
Queen  of  Sheba  visited  King  Solomon,  she  came 
loaded  with  gifts.  It  was  a  custom  in  Israel  that 
when  they  visited  a  prophet  to  inquire  of  God  they 
took  the  reward  of  divination  in  their  hand.  So  when 
we  come  into  the  presence  of  the  Prophet,  Priest  and 
King  of  the  church,  we  should  bring  the  most  costly 


448  REFORM  A  TION  PRINCIPLES. 

offering   that  our  means  can  command.     This  homage 
is  due  to  him. 

"Come  ye  into  his  courts  and  bring 

An  offering  with  you. 
Bring  gifts  and  presents  unto  him ; 

For  to  be  feared  is  he. 

When  one  of  Napoleon's  soldiers  was  wounded  and 
the  surgeon  began  cutting  near  the  heart,  he  would 
say:  "Cut  a  little  deeper  and  you  will  find  the  Em- 
peror." They  professed  to  carry  Napoleon  in  their 
hearts.  And  they  followed  him  through  fire  and  flood, 
through  storm  and  death.  No  sacrifice  was  too  great 
for  them  to  make  for  their  leader.  We  profess  to  '  'have 
Christ  formed  in  our  hearts  the  hope  of  glory."  We 
prove  the  sincerity  of  our  profession  by  being  willing  to 
"  endure  hardness  as  good  soldiers  of  the  cross  of  Christ. " 
Let  the  motto  of  David,  a  man  after  God's  own  heart, 
be  ours:  "I  will  not  offer  burnt  offerings  unto  the 
Lord  my  God  of  that  which  doth  cost  me  nothing," 
and  so  the  plague  of  sin  will  be  staid,  and  the  divine 
blessing  will  descend  as  "the  rain  upon  the  mown 
grass  and  as  showers  that  mollify  the  earth.'' 

- 

OP  THE 


'TJHIVBRSITT; 


FOURTEEN  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 


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29Feb'56PT 


APR  2  6 1956  LI 


REC'D  LD 

JAN  5    1959 


LD  21-100m-2,'55 
(B139s22)476 


General  Library 

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